Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb is a wedge-shaped gallery grave and National Monument located in County Mayo, Ireland.[1][2]
| Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb | |
|---|---|
| Native name Irish: Tuama Dinge Pháirc Ráth Bhrannaibh | |
 view of the tomb, standing in a field | |
| Type | wedge-shaped gallery grave |
| Location | Rathfranpark, Killala, County Mayo, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 54°14′31″N 9°15′09″W / 54.242008°N 9.252568°W |
| Elevation | 26 m (85 ft) |
| Built | c. 2500–2000 BC |
| Official name | Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb |
| Reference no. | 633 |
  Location of Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb in Ireland | |
Location edit
Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb is located 4 km (2.5 mi) northwest of Killala village, overlooking the Palmerstown River and Killala Bay.
History edit
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 edit
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 edit
- ^ Weir, Anthony. "Rathfranpark".
- ^ Borllase, William Copeland (1897). The Dolmens of Ireland: Volume I. London: Chapman & Hall. pp. 114–115.
- ^ "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".