Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb

Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb
Native name
Irish: Tuama Dinge Pháirc Ráth Bhrannaibh

view of the tomb, standing in a field
Type wedge-shaped gallery grave
Location Rathfranpark, Killala,
County Mayo, Ireland
Coordinates 54°14′31″N 9°15′09″W / 54.242008°N 9.252568°W / 54.242008; -9.252568Coordinates: 54°14′31″N 9°15′09″W / 54.242008°N 9.252568°W / 54.242008; -9.252568
Elevation 26 m (85 ft)
Built c. 2500–2000 BC
Official name: Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb
Reference no. 293
Location of Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb in Ireland

Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb is a wedge-shaped gallery grave and National Monument located in County Mayo, Ireland.[1][2]

Location

Rathfranpark Wedge Tomb is located 4 km (2.5 mi) northwest of Killala village, overlooking the Palmerstown River and Killala Bay.

History

This wedge tomb was built c. 2500–2000 BC, in the Copper or Bronze Age.[3][4]

A stone circle once stood close to the tomb until the 1950s, when the stones were uprooted and dumped onto the wedge tomb.[5]

Description

The tomb has a gallery over 3 m (9.8 ft) long and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) wide, with side walls composed of boulders up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) high. The gallery axis is ENE-WSW, so the ENE end points towards the rising sun at the summer solstice.[6][7][8]

References

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