Court tomb in Gartnanoul

Located in a slight N-S valley in a clearing within a Forest Park at the W edge of Lough Oughter. This tomb was never marked on any edition of the OS 6-inch map but it was known locally and was always excluded from forestry operations. The dual court tomb consists of two galleries placed back to back with a large space (L 7.5m) separating their back-stones. The galleries lead to courts at N and S. The N court (int. diam. 3.8m N-S; 3.6m E-W) has about 10 stones and is almost completely closed, but its N end is incorporated in the remnants of a NW-SE field wall. The gallery (int. dims 3.4m N-S; 1.35m E-W at S to 1.9m E-W at N) has no roof-stones in place and consists of a single chamber (max. H of stones 0.8m) entered over a low sill (Wth 0.5m) between two jamb-stones at N, although there may be an internal jamb-stone at W. The S court (int. dims c. 4m N-S; 3.6m E-W) is open (Wth 2.4m) to the S where the S façade of the cairn (L 10.3m E-W) partly survives with some cairn material. The S gallery (int. dims 4m N-S; 1.3m E-W at N to 2.2m E-W at S) is divided into two chambers (max. H of stones 0.9m) by a sill-stone, and the N chamber has always had a pit in its floor. (Ó Nualláin 1977, 58; 1989, 116, Cv.40) This is a National Monument in state guardianship (NM00570), and can be approached by a cleared footpath from an E-W forestry road, c. 90m to the N, although it is not sign-posted from this point in July 2018. 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 revision: 27 July 2018

Court tomb; Late Neolithic period (c. 2500–2000 BC). This tomb type is significant as an early communal burial monument, reflecting ritual practices and social organisation in prehistoric Ireland.