Farranmacbride Court Tomb

This monument is 600m N of Glencolumbkille village. It stands just SE of a steep rocky hillside, 1.3km NE of the strand at Glen Bay, on poor pasture that has been reclaimed from the bog. There is a good outlook from the site to the S and SW, but that to the N and NE is restricted by nearby hilly ground. The unclassified tomb at Straid or Glebe (Dg. 115) lies downslope c. 500m to the S. The monument, aligned NE-SW, consists of a long oval central court with a two-chambered gallery opening off its narrow NE and SW ends. In addition, three, and what may be the remains of a fourth, subsidiary chambers are set around the court, two at its S side and one, perhaps two, at the N. Where necessary for ease of reference, the monument is described as if its long axis lies E-W. The cairn The structure stands in a long oval cairn, 60.5m long by 19.5m wide. A sunken trackway crosses the western half of the court and separates the approximate western half of the cairn, which is quite well preserved, from the considerably denuded eastern half. The western half of the cairn, much overgrown, appears to be stone built and survives to a maximum height of 1.5m. It rises to, and in places exceeds, the height of the gallery walls. The eastern half has been largely removed, and what remains is grass grown, generally level and no more than 0.5m high. At the eastern extremity of the monument the cairn outline is scarcely traceable. The present cairn edge along the N side of the monument is no more than 1m beyond the subsidiary chamber(s) at this side of the court. The S, slightly downhill, side of the cairn, is at least 4m beyond the subsidiary chambers at the S side of the court. The original cairn perimeter is not now apparent, although three short lines of low stones at intervals just inside the present edge of the cairn at the NE may represent some form of kerb or perhaps an internal revetment. Because their status is uncertain, none of these stones is hatched on the plan. Three of them form a line, 3m long, beginning 2.5m E of the well-preserved subsidiary chamber at the N side of the court. These are between 0.1m and 0.3m high. Approximately 4.5m to the E is a line, almost 2m long, composed of four small stones 0.1-0.2m high. Approximately 4.5m further to the E and c. 9m beyond the back of the north-eastern gallery are three stones forming a line 3m long, none of which exceeds 0.1m high. There are two other, partly buried stones at the surface of this end of the cairn. One is 4.5m SE of the back of the north-eastern gallery and measures at least 0.8m in maximum dimension, and just over 3m SE of that is another, 0.35m in maximum dimension. Neither is definitely structural. The sunken trackway, mentioned above, narrows from 4.5m wide at the N to 2m at the S. A drainage channel (not on plan) has been dug along the length of the trackway. A wall at either side of the trackway runs southward from another built along the western two-thirds of the northern edge of the cairn. The wall at the E side of the trackway crosses only the court; that to the W crosses the full width of the cairn and joins two others, combining to all but encompass the eastern half of the monument. One of these walls runs alongside the cairn at the S, and the other links with it and runs N-S just beyond the E end of the monument. The court Although many court orthostats are missing, its outline is clear. It is 20.5m long and c. 8.5m in greatest width. Midway along its S side is an orthostat at right angles to the long axis of the monument. This may represent one side of an entrance passage to the court. Five courtstones, two of them fallen, link the NE gallery to the eastern subsidiary chamber on the S side of the court, and four link it to the subsidiary chamber at the N. The innermost courtstone at either side of the entrance to the NE gallery is tall, in contrast to the others, which are quite low. That flanking the S side of the gallery entrance is 1m high. The second, fallen, is 1.1m long and more than 0.3m thick and would have stood at least 0.3m high when upright. The third here, the top of which is flush with the ground, has also fallen and is not hatched on the plan; its exposed surface measures 0.9m by 0.25m. The fourth stone is 0.4m high, and the fifth, 0.6m beyond it, is 0.45m high. The innermost courtstone at the N side of the gallery entrance is 1.1m high, and the next two, both partly concealed, stand 0.1m and 0.2m high. The fourth stone is 0.5m high (not hatched on plan). The base of this is exposed, and its status is somewhat uncertain. It stands at the E side of a gap, 0.4m wide, in the court that gives access to the entrance passage leading to the adjacent subsidiary chamber. At the W side of this gap is another courtstone, 0.5m high. Just S of this stone is a low stone, 0.2m high, of uncertain status (not hatched on the plan). At the SW end of the court two orthostats flank either side of the entrance to the SW gallery. The inner one at the N is 1m high, and the outer, 0.5m beyond it, is 0.75m high. The inner one at the S side of the gallery entrance is 0.65m high, and the outer one, 0.5m from the inner, is 0.4m high. Approximately midway along the N side of the court is a line, 3.5m long, of five stones. The middle one, 0.75m in maximum dimension, is fallen, and the others, which are quite low, range from 0.45m to 0.75m in maximum dimension and from 0.1m to 0.35m high. These appear to be on or close to the court perimeter but cannot be relied on as courtstones and are not hatched on the plan. Between the two subsidiary chambers at the S side of the court are three set stones that appear to be structural, although the role of each remains to be confirmed. Approximately 3.5m E of the western subsidiary chamber a stone protrudes from the base of the largely collapsed wall along the E side of the trackway crossing the site. It is 1m high and may be a courtstone. Just S of it is a prostrate slab, 1.4m in maximum dimension. Approximately 1.7m E of this is the stone, referred to above, that may have formed part of one side of an entrance passage to the court. Though now slightly loose, it seems to be in situ, and it is 0.6m high. The third set stone is 1.4m SE of this and is 0.4m high. It lies just outside a line drawn through the southern sides of the two subsidiary chambers at the S side of the court and perhaps formed part of a cairn revetment. The north-eastern gallery The north-eastern gallery, c. 5m long, is divided by jambs into two chambers. Some partly displaced roofstones cover the inner chamber. Entry to the gallery is between two transversely set jambs, 0.55m apart, that lie on the court perimeter. The southern jamb is 1.05m high, and the northern one is 0.65m high. On the ground immediately in front of the jambs is a fallen lintel. It measures 2.75m by 1.05m by 0.45m thick. The front chamber is 2m long and 2.2m wide internally. A single orthostat, 0.9m high, forms its S side. Two orthostats form the N side. Both are 0.75m high. The outer one overlaps the entrance jamb. Two displaced slabs lie on the floor of the chamber. That to the N measures 0.95m by 0.6m by 0.2m thick, and that to the S is 1.3m by 0.7m by 0.3m thick. The segmenting jambs are both transversely set and stand 0.5m apart. Both are inset slightly in the gallery sides. The southern one is 0.85m high, and the northern one is 0.75m high. Immediately outside the northern one is a narrow upright stone, its base partly concealed. This is the same height as the inner orthostat of the front chamber, which it overlaps slightly. The segmenting jambs support a large but somewhat displaced lintel with a flat base and humpback top. This has tilted toward the back of the gallery and now also rests on a small stone (not on plan), 0.25m by 0.15m by 0.1m, wedged between it and a displaced slab of uncertain status that lies on the considerable fill of earth and stones at the front of the rear chamber. The displaced slab measures