Wedge Tomb by Magheranaul
The Wedge Tomb of Magheranaul (also called "The Giant's House") near Malin on Inishowen in the townland of Magheranaul ( Irish Machaire Náile ) in County Donegal is the northernmost wedge tomb on the island of Ireland . It's about 100 meters north of a back road, east of Malin. Wedge tombs ( German "wedge tombs" ), formerly "wedge-shaped gallery grave" called, are seamless, mostly unarticulated megalithic of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age .
This megalithic complex, like many of this type's complexes, is more suitable for a dwarf than a giant, has a heavily overgrown 2.5 m long and 1.2 m wide wedge-shaped capstone. It covers a low trapezoidal room, which is bordered by two long side stones, the end stone and an 18 cm thick door stone. The door stone has a hole 15 cm in diameter, which is double-conical, so obviously cut into the plate from both sides.
According to popular tradition: "When there was thunder and lightning, the giant (the monster or the dwarf) would go in, put his finger through the hole and close the door". It is unlikely that there was an antechamber here, as is otherwise common in the region.
There are numerous rock carvings on various outcrops nearby . The surfaces are decorated with cup-and-ring markings , parallel grooves, radial grooves and cartridges .
See also
literature
- Anthony Weir: Early Ireland: A Field Guide 1980
- Philip I. Powell: Of Druid's Altars & Giants Graves. The Megalithic Tombs of Ireland . 2012, ISBN 1469950375
Web links
- Pictures and location information (last accessed on December 10, 2012)
Coordinates: 55 ° 17 ′ 38.6 ″ N , 7 ° 19 ′ 0.2 ″ W.