Court tomb in Drumrat

The tomb is described as it was in 1994, when the plan published here was made. Since then it has been excavated before a road construction project. After the excavation the structural stones were removed to storage and the site of the tomb was buried under the new road. The monument, not shown on any edition of the OS 6-inch map, first came to notice in 1993. It lay c. 1.5km E of Donegal town and c. 30m N of the Drummenny River, a tributary of the River Eske, which reaches the sea just W of the town. It stood at the foot of a drumlin-like hill in heavy, wettish land. This hill severely curtailed the outlook northward from the site, and a similar hill, c. 100m to the S and beyond the river, restricted the outlook in that direction. There were limited views to the NE and SW along the river valley. In 1994 the tomb was represented by a ruined gallery, 5.5m long, aligned NNE-SSW, with the scant remains of a court at its northern end. The surface of an ill-defined area around the structure, c. 20m N-S by 10m E-W, was quite stony, with small stones, some of quartz, visible at the surface. These stones seemed to be the remains of a cairn. However, it was not amenable to accurate survey. Bushes and scrub recently cleared from the environs of the site lay in scattered heaps closeby. A tree had been left standing at the S end of the gallery. The gallery was represented by two transversely set jambs at the N, behind the eastern of which were three sidestones, and the top of what appeared to be another sidestone was just visible 3.5m beyond the western jamb. The western side of the gallery was all but buried. The two jambs stood 0.55m apart. Only the top of the western one was exposed, and it appeared as if it may have been damaged. It rose only a few centimetres above ground level. The eastern jamb, a flat-topped stone, rose c. 0.2m above the top of the western one. The northernmost of the three sidestones at the E was 0.15m lower than the adjacent jamb and measured 0.4m in exposed height at its outer face. The second sidestone, a large one, was 0.65m high at its outer face. This stone had a more or less straight inner face and an outwardly bevelled top well suited to carrying corbels. The third sidestone was skewed from the line of the second, and their junction marked a waisting of the gallery, possibly indicating a point of segmentation. This flat-topped stone was 0.4m high at its outer face. None of the three sidestones just referred to rose more than 0.3m above ground level at its inner face. The orthostat at the W side of the gallery rose only a few centimetres above the ground. It stood opposite and 2.35m from the middle one of the three sidestones at the E. The court was represented by two stones to the W and one to the E. The tops only of the former two stones were exposed and are shown in pecked outline on the plan. Beside the eastern entrance jamb was a tall, northward-leaning, gable-shaped stone. This may have been twisted somewhat from its original position. It measured 1.4m long and 0.4m thick at mid-height and, if upright, would have stood 1.55m high. The juxtaposition of the entrance jambs and the presumed courtstones indicated a clear flattening of the court perimeter across the front of the gallery. Immediately N of the tall courtstone was a displaced stone, 1.25m by 1m by 0.45m thick, and SE of this was another, 1.25m by 1m by 0.65m thick. At these, and in front of the courtstone, there was a small heap of earth and stones, 2m across and 0.4m high, at least some of which seemed to be relatively modern in origin. Although the visible remains were scant, the presence of two transversely set jambs behind the indications of a court, along with the obvious waisting of the gallery side, indicated that the remains were those of a court tomb. Subsequent excavation confirmed this (Channing and King 1997, 124-5). Excavation revealed a full court of subcircular outline. The orthostats visible before excavation were shown to have formed the outer part of the gallery. Their counterparts at the inner end of the gallery were found to have been removed at some stage. However, the sockets in which they had stood were identified. The entire structure had stood in a kerbed cairn. A large number of artifacts were recovered at the site. Among the finds referred to by the excavators in the preliminary account cited above are two intact pots and the sherds of a third found in the court area. Several flint artifacts and traces of cremated bone also came from this part of the monument. The gallery area produced several stone artifacts including a polished stone axe, eighteen flint hollow scrapers, flint knives, and a chert bead, as well as at least four pots. There was also evidence of ironworking at the site, which it is suggested may date to the Early Christian period. Nolan 1993, 127-8; RMP 1995, 94:23; Channing and King 1997, 124-5. 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)