What is recorded here

Megalithic tomb in Ballymacus is an oblong stone cairn at the cliff edge, reduced to a narrow gallery of three upright slabs and one fallen stone. In 1872 soldiers dug through it and carried away a covering slab, leaving behind the kind of wound that never fully closes. What remains is not a complete chamber but a scarred shadow of one, still pointing west along the slope as if waiting for the part the men took.

Situated at edge of steep slope above cliff at Ballymacus Point. Monument consists of oblong cairn (L 8.5m; Wth 2.5m) with oblong depression, abutting old fence. Remains of gallery, at W end (L 3.6m), aligned E-W; represented by three orthostats and a prostrate slab to S, single orthostat to W. Cremen (1924, 73) records that, in 1872, a party of soldiers dug into the monument and removed a 'covering slab'. The remains appear to be last vestiges of a megalithic tomb. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

Megalithic tomb in Ballymacus is a Neolithic passage tomb, dating to approximately 3500–2500 BCE. Its alignment and gallery structure reflect early ceremonial funerary practices in the region.

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