Cashelcummin Court Tomb / Cave — Killybegs

This tomb, overgrown by bushes and other foliage, is 600m from the W side of and overlooks Killybegs Harbour. It stands on a low rise on rough, uneven ground. It has been incorporated in a later circular stone enclosure, apparently a cashel. Only the western part of the perimeter of this later structure is readily traceable. It is indicated by broken hatched lines on the plan. The tomb consists of a gallery preceded at the SW by the remains of a court. The status of a number of set stones beyond both arms of the court is uncertain. The gallery, to which there is a lintelled entry, is c. 7.5m long and divided by segmenting jambs into two chambers, the outer one longer and wider than the inner. Corbelling survives along both sides of the outer half of the gallery, and three lintels resting on the gallery sides cover much of its inner half. It is likely that the two eastern lintels were placed here after the main period of use of the tomb (see below). In front of the gallery, in the court area, is a slight fall in ground level toward the SW, which may owe something to the construction of the cashel. The back of the gallery has been incorporated in a low bank that is roughly concentric with the cashel wall. In this bank, and 3m SE of the back of the gallery, is an upright stone, 1.75m long, 0.15m thick and 0.7m high. Neither this stone nor the bank is shown on the plan. There is considerable stone fill in and alongside the gallery, but no readily identifiable cairn outline could be discerned. Two jambs, 0.85m apart, mark the entrance to the gallery. Five courtstones survive beyond the northern jamb, but only one beyond the southern jamb. The disposition of the stones at the N indicates a straight-sided court at least 7.5m long, and an original width of c. 6m seems likely. The exposed heights of the courtstones at the N, from W to E, are l.1m, 1m, 1.05m, l.1m and 0.4m. The courtstone at the S side is 3m beyond the southern entrance jamb and is 0.9m in exposed height. Just 1m beyond this is a prostrate and partly concealed slab. It measures 2m by 0.9m by 0.4m thick and may be a fallen courtstone. The line of this is continued to the SE for a distance of 3.5m by three stones. The first of these, largely concealed, is 0.15m high. The other two seem deliberately set, but their status is uncertain. They are 0.5m and 0.6m high. Approximately 2m W of this line of stones is a displaced slab, 1.7m in maximum dimension. There are a number of set stones outside the N arm of the court. Four of these form a line 1.1m N of its outer end. Three are contiguous, and the fourth is 0.6m to the W; they range from 0.15m to 0.55m high. Approximately 0.45m S of the westernmost of the four is a small, low, seemingly set stone, and to the NW is another. The former is 0.15m high, and the latter, which leans westward, would stand 0.45m high if upright. Parallel to and c. 2.5m N of the E end of the line of four stones are two set stones, 0.7m apart. In 1982, when the plan was made, these lay partly concealed by upcast derived from the construction of a sewerage system for a nearby dwelling-house. The western one is 0.45m in exposed height, and the eastern is 0.3m. As mentioned above, the status of all these stones to the N of the court is uncertain, and they are not hatched on the plan. Just SE of the outer two courtstones of the N arm of the court is a low mound, 2.5m by 1.8m and 0.5m high, which may be the remains of an old fence. At the western edge of this mound is a partly concealed prostrate slab, 1.7m in maximum dimension, and at its eastern edge are two small stones, the southern one 0.65m in exposed height and the northern 0.35m. The front chamber of the gallery appears to have been c. 4m long. It is 2.4-2.7m wide except at its inner end, where it narrows to 1.6m. The entrance jambs are well matched, more or less flat-topped blocks of equal height. The northern one is 1m in exposed height and rises 0.25m above the top of the adjoining courtstone. The southern jamb is 0.8m in exposed height. The large lintel above them rests directly on the northern jamb and on a small pad-stone, 0.3m by 0.25m by 0.1m thick, between it and the top of the southern jamb. The lintel measures 2.4m by 1.7m and increases from 0.8m in depth close to its southern end to 1.15m near its northern end. A displaced stone, 0.8m in maximum dimension, lies in front of the northern jamb, and there is a partly buried stone, 0.6m in maximum dimension, in front of the southern jamb. A displaced slab, 1.3m by 0.9m by 0.2m thick, resting on the last may be a displaced corbel. Two sidestones, 0.7m apart, represent the S side of the front chamber. The first of these overlaps the entrance jamb and is 0.8m high. It supports three corbels, the outer ends of which rest on the ground. The outermost of the three measures 0.95m by at least 0.6m and is 0.25m thick. There is a small pad-stone between it and the top of the sidestone. The other two corbels measure 0.85m by 0.7m and 0.75m by 0.55m; both are 0.3m thick. Outside these is a partly buried stone, at least 1.25m long, 0.3m thick and 0.4m high. It does not appear to be in situ. The second sidestone on this side is skewed inward to narrow the chamber. It is also 0.8m high. Outside this is a low set stone, 0.45m long, 0.3m thick and 0.35m high. It is unclear whether this is a structural stone. A displaced slab overlies the space between the two sidestones. Its western end rests on some fill at the inner end of the large sidestone, and its eastern end rests on the lintel above the segmenting jambs. This displaced slab, which may have served as a corbel, measures 1.35m by 0.75m and is 0.15m thick. The greater part of the N side of the front chamber is formed by a large orthostat, 1m in exposed height. There is a small upright stone between this and the entrance jamb. This measures 0.3m by 0.2m by 0.3m in exposed height. A small orthostat beyond the opposite end of the large orthostat is skewed inward to narrow the back of the chamber. A hole has been dug around this stone, exposing it to a depth of 0.85m. Three tiers of corbelling survive at this side of the chamber. There are three corbels in the lowest tier. Their outer ends rest on the ground and are concealed. The westernmost of the three rests against the outer face of the entrance jamb. It measures 1.2m by 0.95m by 0.3m thick. The second measures 0.8m by 0.6m by 0.45m thick, and the third measures 1.2m by at least 0.6m by 0.2m thick. Two corbels of a second tier rest on the outer two of the lowest tier. The western one measures 1.2m by 0.6m by 0.2m thick. Beside and partly overlying the eastern edge of this is a small pointed corbel, 0.65m by 0.4m by 0.2m thick. A single corbel of the uppermost tier remains. It rests on the two corbels of the middle tier and measures 2m by 2m by 0.3m thick. Three displaced slabs lie in the front chamber. One, 0.9m by 0.55m by 0.2m thick, lies against the inner edge of the large orthostat at the N side of the chamber. A large slab, 2.3m by 1m by 0.2m thick, apparently a displaced roofstone, lies on the floor of the inner end of the chamber. The third displaced stone, 1.15m by 0.7m by 0.25m thick, lies against the S side of the chamber. The segmenting jambs are longitudinally set and stand inside the gallery sides. They are 0.6m apart, and both are 0.9m high. A lintel, 2.3m by 1.25m by 0.5m thick, rests on the jambs. The inner chamber would have been c. 3m long. It is 1.55-1.9m wide where measurable and appears to have narrowed toward the back. Two orthostats form the N side of the chamber; one survives at the S side and is closed by a backstone. The outer and larger of the two northern orthostats, the outer face and both ends of which are concealed, is 0.7m high. The other is skewed inward to narrow the back of the chamber. The outer face of this too is concealed. It is 0.3m high. The orthostat on the S side, its outer face and both ends obscured, is 0.4m high. The tall backstone