Discover Alone, back to main map

Giants Grave

Court tomb

What is recorded here

Half a kilometre from the water's edge, a long cairn of thorns and forgotten bone stretches along a low ridge above Lough Macnean Upper. At its eastern end, two chambers and an antechamber still hold their shape beneath ruined stones, waiting for hands that stopped coming centuries ago. The dead were laid where the living could look down on the lake, not buried out of sight.
Situated near the top of a low ridge overlooking the SE end of Lough Macnean Upper. The inner end of a court, to the E, leads to a ruined gallery, now open at the back. The tomb stands at the E end of a long cairn overgrown by thorn bushes. One or possibly two courtstones adjoin the N side of the gallery which consists of an antechamber and two main chambers. The antechamber is 1.4m long and 1.4m wide. A pair of jambs, 0.6m apart, divide it from the first main chamber. This chamber is 2.6m long and 1.6m in greatest width. A sill set between the inner ends of a pair of imbricated jambs separate it from the second chamber which was at least 2m long. (de Valera and Ó Nualláin 1972, 103-4, No. 2) 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).
Neolithic passage tomb, dating to approximately 3500–2500 BCE. Its orientation and structural features suggest it was part of a broader ceremonial landscape associated with early farming communities in the region.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.

What survives
Recorded monument

Places near here

Add to this placeAdd a picture Comment or add a tip

Explore 1,118,481 places