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Court tomb in Ballyhugh

Court tomb

What is recorded here

One chamber holds two, perhaps mother and child, perhaps twins, though no name has reached us. The living built that much thought into stone and left the court open, as if invitation still mattered. Grass has since swallowed the edges, but the galleries remain sharp enough to show they were not made for chance.
Situated just S of Dungummin Lough in pasture. The monument, a dual court tomb, is well preserved but overgrown. It is aligned roughly N-S and consists of two galleries, each divided by jambs into two chambers, set 1.1m apart in a long oval mound. A single facade-stone is visible at the N end of the mound. A broad open court gives entry to the northern gallery. The front chamber here is 4m long and 1.5m to 1.7m wide. The rear chamber is 3.5m long and narrows towards the backstone. Only two stones, which also serve as entrance jambs, remain of the southern court. The front chamber here was about 4m long but its outer end is now missing. The rear chamber is 3.5m long and also narrows towards the back, (de Valera and Ó Nualláin 1972, 117-8, No. 17) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1995). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 December 2008 See linked document with details from Ruaidhrí de Valera and Seán Ó Nualláin, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume III. Counties Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim, Longford, Westmeath, Laoighis, Offaly, Kildare, Cavan. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1972).
Court tomb, Late Neolithic period (c. 2500–2000 BCE). Its dual-gallery design reflects regional variations in funerary architecture and highlights the complexity of ritual practices in early farming communities.

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What survives
Recorded monument

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