Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb
Tuama Dinge Pháirc Ráth Bhrannaibh | |
The tomb in 2016 | |
Shown within Ireland | |
| Location | Rathfranpark, Killala, County Mayo, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 54°14′31″N 9°15′09″W / 54.242008°N 9.252568°W |
| Type | wedge-shaped gallery grave |
| Length | 3 meters |
| Width | 2 meters |
| Height | 1.8 meters |
| History | |
| Founded | c. 2250 BC |
| Official name | Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb |
| Reference no. | 633 |
The 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, Killala Bay and the Ox Mountains in County Sligo.[3]
History
This wedge tomb was built c. 2500–2000 BC, in the Copper or Bronze Age.[4][5]
A stone circle once stood close to the tomb until the 1950s, when the stones were uprooted and dumped onto the wedge tomb.[6]
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.[7][8][9]
References
- ^ Weir, Anthony. "Rathfranpark".
- ^ Borllase, William Copeland (1897). The Dolmens of Ireland: Volume I. London: Chapman & Hall. pp. 114–115.
- ^ Meehan, Cary (2004). Sacred Ireland. Somerset: Gothic Image Publications. p. 645. ISBN 0 906362 43 1.
- ^ "Cabragh".
- ^ "Cabragh Wedge Tomb, Sligo - TripAdvisor".
- ^ "Saints and Stones: Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb".
- ^ Map, The Megalithic Portal and Megalith. "Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb".
- ^ "Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb".
- ^ "megalithomania: Rathfranpark (Mayo) :: Wedge Tomb :: Visit notes".