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Wedge tomb in Ardagh (ballynahinch By.)

Wedge tomb

What is recorded here

On the western edge of a Galway glacial ridge, a small chamber waits inside a ten-metre mound, its single roofstone still spanning a space narrow enough for one person to lie down. The chamber opens towards the northwest and narrows into darkness, yet part of that threshold has been dug away, as if curiosity or greed broke the seal. It may have been a wedge tomb, a place where the dead were set beside the sea rather than buried beneath forgetfulness.
On W side of a glacial ridge close to the inner reaches of Ardbear Bay. Consists of a small chamber (L 1.75m, Wth 1.2m), aligned NW-SE, incorporated in an oblong mound (10m by 7m). The chamber, which is open to NW and narrows towards the rear, is covered by a single large roofstone. The chamber and immediate area to NW have been dug out. Although the monument cannot be classified with certainty, interpretation as a wedge-tomb would not be inconsistent with the present evidence. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). Date of upload: 05 August 2010
Wedge tomb, dating to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (c. 2500–1500 BCE). Its alignment and construction reflect regional funerary practices in western Ireland during the transition from megalithic to smaller chambered tombs.

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What survives
Recorded monument

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