Gortnaleck Court Tomb

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Gortnaleck Court Tomb
Native name
Tuama Cúirte Ghort na Leice (Irish)
Gortnaleck court tomb.jpg
The tomb in 2011
Type court cairn
LocationGortnaleck, Grange, County Sligo, Ireland
Coordinates 54°23′04″N8°29′03″W / 54.384563°N 8.484219°W / 54.384563; -8.484219
Elevation63 m (207 ft)
Builtc.4000–2500 BC
Official nameGortnaleck Court Tomb
Reference no.607
Ireland adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Ireland

Gortnaleck Court Tomb is a court cairn and National Monument located in County Sligo, Ireland. [1]

Contents

Location

Gortnaleck Court Tomb is located in a small field on a deserted farm 2.1 km (1.3 mi) north of Benbulben and 2.7 km (1.7 mi) east-southeast of Grange. [2] Benbulben dominates the view to the east while there is a wide view out across the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The monument is on private property.

History

Gortnaleck Court Tomb was constructed in the Neolithic, c. 4000–2500 BC. [3] The monument was surveyed by Sean O Nuallain for the Megalithic Survey of County Sligo which was published in 1976.

Description

The monument consists of a central court which is 6 m (20 ft) in diameter. An entrance passage to the south leads into the court. A pair of galleries open to the east and west. The west gallery is 7 m (23 ft) long and the east is 5 m (16 ft) by 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) long. [4] The majority of the cairn stones are missing, haven been used to construct the massive drystone field walls around the monument.

References

  1. "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, linguistics and literature". Hodges, Figgis. 1956 via Google Books.
  2. "The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland". The Society. 1975 via Google Books.
  3. "Benbulben and Dartry Mountain". carrowkeel.com. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  4. "Gortnaleck Court Tomb". Megalithic Monuments of Ireland. July 2010.