Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb

Wedge-shaped gallery grave in County Mayo, Ireland
54°14′31″N 9°15′09″W / 54.242008°N 9.252568°W / 54.242008; -9.252568Elevation26 m (85 ft)Builtc. 2500–2000 BC
National monument of Ireland
Official nameRathfranpark Wedge TombReference no.633
Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb is located in Ireland
Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb
Location of Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb in Ireland

Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb is a wedge-shaped gallery grave and National Monument located in County Mayo, Ireland.[1][2]

Location

Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb is located 4 km (2.5 mi) northwest of Killala village, overlooking the Palmerstown River and Killala Bay.

History

This wedge tomb was built c. 2500–2000 BC, in the Copper or Bronze Age.[3][4]

A stone circle once stood close to the tomb until the 1950s, when the stones were uprooted and dumped onto the wedge tomb.[5]

Description

The tomb has a gallery over 3 m (9.8 ft) long and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) wide, with side walls composed of boulders up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) high. The gallery axis is ENE-WSW, so the ENE end points towards the rising sun at the summer solstice.[6][7][8]

References

  1. ^ Weir, Anthony. "Rathfranpark".
  2. ^ Borllase, William Copeland (1897). The Dolmens of Ireland: Volume I. London: Chapman & Hall. pp. 114–115.
  3. ^ "Cabragh".
  4. ^ "Cabragh Wedge Tomb, Sligo - TripAdvisor".
  5. ^ "Saints and Stones: Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb".
  6. ^ Map, The Megalithic Portal and Megalith. "Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb".
  7. ^ "Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb".
  8. ^ "megalithomania: Rathfranpark (Mayo) :: Wedge Tomb :: Visit notes".