What is recorded here

Moorneen holds a ruined seven-metre court tomb on a slope above Cleggan Bay, its chambers split by a tall slab and its roofstones scattered along the gallery. The north chamber lies open, perhaps dug out by curious hands or forgotten livestock, while the south chamber keeps its western wall exposed to the sky. This is not a polished wonder but a broken threshold where ancient people placed the dead beside the sea, and the surrounding field walls still mark the shape of that old neighbourhood.

On NW-facing slope overlooking Cleggan Bay. The monument is very ruined and comprises a gallery (L c. 7m) aligned NW-SE, divided into two chambers by a tall septal slab flanked by a jamb. Only W side of S chamber is exposed. The open, N chamber appears to have been dug out. A number of displaced roofstones lie along the gallery. A similar form of segmentation occurs at Cleggan (GA022-014----) and thus this monument can be assigned, with reasonable confidence, to the court-tomb class. Pre-bog field walls (GA022-103002-) occur to S and E. (Kinahan 1871, 350-1) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

Court tomb, dating to the Neolithic period (c. 3500–2500 BCE). These tombs are significant as early examples of communal burial monuments, reflecting complex social organization and ritual practices in prehistoric Ireland.

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