Portal tomb in Killaclohane

Situated on N facing slope on S side of the broad valley of the River Maine. The monument is aligned N-S with the entrance facing downslope to N. Remains comprise two portal stones and a roofstone. The portals stand 0.90m apart and both lean markedly to the E. The W portal measures 1.20m long, is 0.40m wide at the top narrowing to c. 0.30m at the base, and, if erect, would be 1.60m high. The E portal is 1.80m in maximum length, 0.60m thick and, if erect, would be 1.70m high. The E portal rests against an upright stone (0.60m long, 0.22m thick, and 0.35m H) but it is unclear whether or not it originally formed part of the structure as it may have been part of a field fence that formerly abutted the monument here (see below). The roofstone measures 3.75m long, 2.60m wide and 0.80m thick. It is clearly displaced and rests on the E portal. Its S end rests on the ground above a stone (0.80m long, 0.15m thick, and in excess of 0.30m in depth) whose exposed edge is visible beneath it within the chamber. A split boulder slab (1.15m x 1.10m x 0.27m thick) lies in the chamber area and was moved to its present position from the rear of the chamber (pers comm. landowner). It is impossible to know if it ever formed part of the tomb structure proper. The exact dimensions of the chamber cannot be ascertained with certainty but it would have been c. 2m long measuring from the interior edges of the portal stones to where the roofstone rests on the ground. A drawing of the tomb by Commander O'Connel (March 1939, SMR file) shows the monument incorporated within a field fence which abutted the S end of the roofstone and the E face of the E portal stone. This fence was removed in early 1993 leaving a low mound of earth and stone around the monument's E side. Other than that, there is no evidence of a surrounding cairn or mound. The monument is undergoing excavation and conservation (license number 15E0103). KE047-052----_01.pdf: Plan of the monument surveyed July 1993. KE045-052----_01.jpg: Photograph of the monument looking west (taken 26 July 1993). KE045-052----_02.jpg: Photograph of the portals, looking south (taken 26 July 1993). Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 7 July 2015