Tuama Dingeach na hAltóra | |
 The tomb in 2016 | |
  Shown within Ireland | |
| Location | Altar, Schull, County Cork, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30′50″N9°38′39″W / 51.513756°N 9.644037°W |
| Type | wedge-shaped gallery grave |
| Length | 3.42 meters |
| Width | 1.9 meters |
| History | |
| Material | Stone |
| Founded | c. 2500 BC |
| Official name | Altar |
| Reference no. | 645 [1] |
The Altar Wedge Tomb is a wedge-shaped gallery grave and national monument located outside the village of Schull, in County Cork, Ireland. [2]
Altar Wedge Tomb is located 6.7 km (4.2 mi) WSW of Schull, on a cliffedge near Toormore Bay. [3]
Wedge tombs of this kind were built in Ireland in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age, c. 2500–2000 BC. [4]
Cremated burials took place around 2000 BC and pit burials around 1200 BC. Around 200, a pit was dug and filled in with fish, shellfish and cetacean bones, presumably as a ritual practice. [5]
Despite the name, there is no evidence that the "altar" was ever used for sacrifice. During penal times, it was used as a Mass rock in the 18th century. [6] A holy well stood across the road. [7]
It was excavated in summer 1989 by Dr. William O'Brien and Madeline Duggan. Material found included cremated human bones, a tooth, worked flint, charcoal, periwinkles, fish bones, and limpets. [8]
The entrance was aligned ENE–WSW, possibly with Mizen Peak (Carn Uí Néit) and maybe to catch the setting sun at Samhain (1 November). [9]
The tomb consists of a trapezoidal orthostatic gallery 3.42 m (11.2 ft) long, 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) wide at the west end 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) at the east.[ citation needed ]
A roof-stone 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) long is still above the east end, and a second rests against the westerly stones at either side of the gallery. There is no cairn material or evidence of kerbstones; they may have been removed for road construction in the 19th century. [8] [10]