Burial Place — Magheraboy (killygordan Ed)

This monument is 3km NE of Killygordon village in a forest nursery and stands on a gentle S-facing slope 700m N of the River Finn. The site commands an extensive outlook to the S across the river valley, but the view to the N is restricted somewhat by rising ground. In 1982, when the plan was made, a 3m-wide band of evergreen trees, planted in the 1960s, enclosed the monument and encroached on it at the front and back. At the date of survey a dense growth of briars and other vegetation enveloped the monument. After considerable clearance it was possible to discern that the remains of a court at the E precede a long narrow mound along almost the entire perimeter, of which there is a line, doubled for a short stretch, of leaning slabs, apparently corbels. These are shown stippled on the plan. Others have been dislodged and lie closeby. Approximately 3m from its western end is a hole in the mound in which a stone is exposed. The hole is 2m long and 0.9m wide. Only the upper part of the exposed stone is visible, but it seems that it may be set on edge. It measures at least 1.5m long and 0.25m thick and is exposed to a depth of 0.6m. Although its status is now unclear, it may be the remains of a 'grave...enclosed by flat stones at sides and covered by a flag 41/2 feet [c. 1.4m] square, 1 foot [c. 0.3m] thick' noted by Thomas Fagan (1845-8) at the centre of the site. The 'grave' measured 6 feet (c. 1.8m) long, 2 feet (c. 0.6m) wide and 2 feet (c. 0.6m) high in visible extent but was, Fagan believed, originally larger. A straight line of kerbstones is exposed 4m S of the mound, and there is a curved line c. 5m beyond its western end. A considerable number of displaced stones lie scattered around the site, many almost hidden in the grass, particularly at the E end of the structure. Only the larger ones are shown on the plan. Three stones of the inner end of the court survive, two to the N and one to the S. The outer one at the N is 1m high. The inner one leans inward and would stand 1.4m high if upright. The single courtstone at the S side of the court is lm high. Beside the inner end of this a stone, apparently displaced and at least 1m in maximum dimension, protrudes from the fill of the mound. There are four other large displaced stones in the court area. Three are partly buried, and the fourth, which is prostrate, measures 1.5m in maximum dimension. The slab-lined mound is c. 12m long, narrows from c. 5m wide at the front to 3.5m at the back, or W end, and is c. 1m high. Sixteen corbels can be recognised along the N side of the mound, where they survive generally as a single tier, although two tiers are present for c. 2.5m close to mid-length. The bases of many of these stones are partly buried, so precise measurements of their sloping heights cannot readily be ascertained. They measure up to c. 1.2m high, vary from 0.5m to 1m wide and are up to 0.35m thick. A break in one is indicated by a pecked line on the plan. At around midway along the top of the mound is a stone, at least 0.6m in maximum dimension, that seems to have been detached from the corbel to the N of it. There are six displaced slabs just N of the mound. Two of these are partly buried, and the largest of the others measures 1.15m in maximum dimension. There are also two displaced slabs at the W end of the mound. Seven corbels are recognised along the S side of the mound. The bases of all are concealed, but they appear to be up to lm in sloping height and range from 0.75m to 1.4m wide. Just outside the gap between the third and fourth corbel are two slabs, one behind the other, which were clearly employed as corbels. These now lean away from the mound and rest on a displaced slab. To the E of these there are four other displaced slabs, and toward the W end of the mound is another. The largest of the displaced slabs at this side measures 2m in maximum dimension. The line of exposed kerbstones at the southern side of the monument extends, including two short gaps, over a distance of 9.2m. These stones rise no more than 0.25m above the ground level outside them. The ground level inside the kerbstones is 0.2m higher than that outside. The largest of these kerbstones, the second from the W of the six contiguous ones, is a conspicuous quartz block. Approximately 2.5m W of the kerbstones and outside and at right angles to the line described by them there are two large stones laid on edge, but they do not seem to be set in the ground. The larger one measures 1m in maximum dimension. Neither seems to be an original feature. The kerbstones at the W form a gently curving line c. 6m long. They are roughly the same height as their counterparts at the S. Approximately 0.9m E of the southern end of this line of kerbstones is a displaced slab, 0.75m in maximum dimension. Approximately 4.5m beyond the N side of the gallery are four small stones protruding just above ground level at intervals over a distance of 7.5m. The largest, the westernmost, measures 0.45m in maximum dimension. These may be kerbstones but cannot reliably be accepted as such and are not hatched on the plan. The kerbing at this site, though quite incomplete, indicates an original cairn length of at least 20m. It is clear that the cairn narrowed from a broad E end to a rounded W end. Fagan 1845-8, book 13, 14; Ó Nualláin 1983a, 26, no. 36; SMR 1987, 78:21; Ó Nualláin 1989, 117; RMP 1995, 78:21. 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)