Labbacallee wedge tomb

Labbacallee wedge tomb (Irish: Leaba ChaillĂ­ "Hag's Bed") is a large pre-historic burial monument, located 8km (5 miles) north-west of Fermoy and 2km (1.25 miles) south-east of Glanworth, County Cork, Ireland. It is the largest Irish wedge tomb.[1]

Contents

Features

The site has three large capstones which slope downwards towards the back, the largest being 780cm long and weighing 10 tonnes. The gallery below is made up of a large rectangular chamber, with a small one behind it, divided by a slab. The gallery is triple-walled, buttressed at the back by three slabs set parallel to the axis of the tomb. To the front of the gallery are the remains of a large rectangular, unroofed, antechamber, which is wider than the gallery and separated from it by a large slab.[1] Outside this there was a further row of stones running off at an angle, but few of the original stones remain.[2]

Excavations

In 1934 excavations revealed a number of inhumations, fragments of a late Stone Age decorated pot, and fragments of bone and stone.[2] Local folklore associates 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.

References

  1. ^ a b Weir, A (1980). Early Ireland. A Field Guide. Belfast: Blackstaff Press. pp. p118. 
  2. ^ a b "Labbacallee Wedge Tomb". Discover Ireland. http://www.discoverireland.ie/di/resultsengine/IndividualResultTCS.aspx?touristItemID=49741. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 

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