Horn Head Portal Tomb

The tomb is c. 400m from the sea cliff at the W side of Horn Head peninsula and on the N side of a broad shallow valley. It commands an extensive outlook westward along the N coast of County Donegal and NW to Tory Island, 13km distant. Light grazing is available in the vicinity. The court tomb in the same townland (Dg. 33) lies almost lkm to the SE The monument consists of a long cairn, 33.5m E-W, at the E end of which is a narrow roofless chamber. The cairn, its perimeter partly grass grown, is formed of slabs 0.5m in maximum dimension and reaches a height of c. 0.7m. It is 13m wide at the chamber and narrows to c. 5m at the W. The chamber, in which there is a considerable fill of cairn stones, stands 6m from the rounded E end of the cairn. It faces E, and its N and S sides are both formed by a portal-stone and a single sidestone. The two stones at the N both lean inward, and, as their bases are hidden by cairn fill, their positioning relative to each other is unclear. The portal-stones are set longitudinally. The northern one is pointed on top, and the southern one is flat topped. The gap between them was originally more than the present measurable 0.6m. That at the N would stand 1.3m high if upright. It leans against the S portal-stone, which is l.1m high. The sidestone at the S, 1.2m high, leans against the outer edge of the adjoining portal-stone. It appears that a piece may have been broken from the top of the N sidestone, which is at least 0.9m high. It seems that when intact this chamber would have been at least 2m long and close to 1m wide. It is clear from Thomas Fagan's (1845-8) account of the monument that it was in its present state when he saw it. Fagan 1845-8, book 1, 8; OS Revision Name Book, sheet 15 (1847-9), 14; Ó Nualláin 1968a, 290 (plan); Ó Nualláin 1983a, 30, no. 50 (plan); Ó Nualláin 1983b, 93, Donegal no. 2; SMR 1987, 15:4; Cody 1995, 36-8 (plan); RMP 1995, 15:4. The above description was published in the 'Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI, County Donegal.' Compiled by: Eamon Cody (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). Date of upload: 22 September 2008 See linked document with details from Eamon Cody, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI. County Donegal. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002)

Portal tomb; dates to the Neolithic period (c. 3500–2500 BCE). Its strategic coastal location suggests it may have had ritual or symbolic significance relating to seascapes and long-distance visibility.