What is recorded here

Wedge tomb in Derrygortnacloghy is a long, low chamber cut into the western edge of a Cork ridge, facing the River Lee valley. Its stones still form a narrow gallery, but the earth and cover that once hid the dead have largely vanished. The tomb may have marked a family line, a border, or a place where people brought food for those who left the living world. What remains is a shallow tray of rock, open to rain and memory.

Towards W end of one of number of low ridges in NE foothills of Shehy Mountains; site overlooks River Lee valley to N. Comprises large, wedge-shaped gallery (L 3.5m; Wth 1.6m at W end, 1.1m at E; H 1.5m to W) aligned E-W; represented by one sidestone to N, two to S and apparent inset backstone at E end; three closely-set outer-wall stones along S side. Gallery decreases in height from W to E; covered by single roofstone. Monument formerly incorporated in townland boundary fence; fence now removed (1991). 'Cup marked capstone' (Finlay 1973, 167). (de Valera and Ó Nualláin 1982, 20-1, Co. 28) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 3: Mid Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009 See linked document with details from Ruaidhrí de Valera and Seán Ó Nualláin, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume IV. Counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1982)

Wedge tomb, dating to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (c. 2500–1000 BCE). Its E-W alignment and distinctive shape are characteristic of wedge tombs found across Ireland, reflecting early funerary and ritual practices in the region.

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