Labbacallee wedge tomb

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Labbacallee wedge tomb (Leaba Caillighe in Irish, meaning The Hag's Bed) is a large pre-historic burial monument, located 8km north of Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland. Labbacallee is thought to have been built during the early Bronze Age, circa 1500 BC.

The site is one of the largest Irish examples of a wedge tomb. It consists of a long rectangular chamber, covered by three capstones, the largest of which is 8m in length and weighs up to 2 tons. Three chambers lie to the rear of the monument. The site is surrounded by a wide u-shaped kerb.

In 1934, excavations found fragments of pottery and stone tools, as well as a number of inhumations. Local folklore assicoates the site with the Celtic Hag-Goddess Cailleach Bheur, and when during the excavations the site was found to contain the remains of a woman. Although the body had been positioned within the tomb, her skull was found outside of it.