Malin More Portal Tombs — Chamber 2

This, the westernmost of the seven megalithic tombs (National Monument no. 139 (4) in state care) in this townland, is 900m SW of the last (Dg. 90). It stands in pasture reclaimed from the bog on the floor of the valley opening onto the N end of Malin Bay, which is 500m to the W. There is a good outlook from the site to the W and N out to sea and to the E along the valley floor, but steeply rising ground nearby, the lowermost slopes below Leahan Mountain, restrict the view to the S and SE. The monument consists of a row of six megalithic chambers (DG089-008/001/002/003/004/005-) standing at irregular intervals over a distance of 100m. They are in two separate fields, three in each, just S of a narrow road and are here numbered 1 to 6 from W to E. The four intermediate chambers are in a line, running more or less E-W, c. 5m N of and parallel to a line linking the larger terminal chambers. Chamber Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 6 are portal tomb chambers; No. 5, though very ruined, seems also to have been one, but the original design of No. 4 is uncertain. The orientations of the four portal tomb chambers are as follows: No. 1 faces ENE; No. 2 faces SSE; No. 3 faces N; and No. 6 faces E. The orientation of No. 4 is uncertain, but in its present state it seems to have faced E. If, as suggested, the remains at No. 5 are those of a portal tomb chamber, it would have faced either E or W when intact. The distances between the chambers from W to E are 12m, 16m, 9m, 14m and 30m. The comparatively large gap between Nos. 5 and 6 suggests there may have been a further chamber between them. If there was such a chamber it may have fallen victim to the construction of the road adjacent to the complex. Thomas Fagan (1845-8), who visited the site in 1847, refers to the existence of seven chambers (see below under No. 1) but provides details of only those numbered 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 here. He claimed that the chambers had stood in one long cairn that he estimated originally measured 100 yards (c. 91m) E-W and 20 yards (c. 18m) N-S. However, it was 'defaced' and 'partly under tillage and fences' when he saw it. A small, low, stony mound, referred to below, survives alongside the easternmost chamber (No. 6) and appears to be the remnant of a cairn. Apart from this, there is a light scatter of partly buried stones over much of the eastern half of the site, but excavation would be required to determine whether these represent an ancient cairn. The Board of Works carried out work at this site toward the end of the 19th century (see Introduction), but the annual reports of that body provide little information about its nature and extent (CPW 1886, 22; 1887, 24, 63; 1888, 24). Borlase's (1897, 244-8) charge that major alterations were made to the two larger chambers (Nos. 1 and 6) is considered below. The Chambers No. 2 (DG089-008001-) The entrance to this small chamber is at the SSE between two portal-stones. The western portal-stone is broken, and only its stump remains. The sides of the chamber are formed by single stones set outside the lines of the portal-stones. It is closed by a stone set between the ends of the sidestones. A roofstone has slipped westward and now rests on a slab, possibly a piece detached from its underside, which itself rests on the western sidestone. The portal-stones are 0.65m apart. The stump of the western one is 0.15m high. The intact eastern one is 1.2m high. This rises 0.5m above the outer end of the eastern sidestone, which leans against it. This sidestone is 0.7m high at its outer end, from where it declines to 0.15m at the inner end. The western sidestone slightly overlaps the stump of the adjacent portal-stone but does not touch it. It does, however, lean against the backstone. It is 0.3m high. The upright backstone, measured at its inner face, increases in height from 0.2m at its eastern edge to 0.35m at the western. The appearance of this stone suggests that a piece may have been detached from its top. Ground level outside the backstone is 0.2m below that in the chamber. The displaced roofstone measures 1.8m by 1.4m by 0.3m thick. The slab between it and the top of the western sidestone measures 1.7m by at least 0.6m and is 0.15m in maximum thickness. A stone, 0.7m by 0.5m by 0.4m (not on plan), which does not appear to have formed part of the structure, lies between the portal-stones. In addition some small stones lie in the chamber. This chamber, when intact, would have been just under 2m long. It narrows slightly from 1.05m just inside the portal-stones to 0.9m at the back.