Leaba Thomáis Mhic Cába | |
 | |
  Shown within Ireland | |
| Alternative name | Thomas McCabe's Bed |
|---|---|
| Location | Matthewstown, Fenor, County Waterford |
| Region | Ireland |
| Coordinates | 52°10′33″N7°13′38″W / 52.175879°N 7.22726°W |
| Type | kistvaen |
| Part of | Scilly–Tramore group |
| History | |
| Material | stone |
| Founded | 2500–2000 BC |
| Periods | Neolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Public access | Yes |
| Official name | Matthewstown |
| Reference no. | 237 [1] |
Matthewstown Passage Tomb is a passage tomb situated in County Waterford, Ireland.
The tomb is located 1.6 km (1 mile) north of Fenor. Most of the surrounding countryside is visible, to the Comeragh Mountains. [2]
Matthewstown Passage Tomb dates to 2500–2000 BC. It is locally known as Thomas McCabe's Bed; this may have been the name of a local outlaw who supposedly spent a night here: cf. the many "Diarmuid and Gráinne's Beds" [3]
This is one of a group of small passage tombs in Co. Waterford with affinities to the tombs in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, hence the name "Scilly-Tramore group," suggesting that the builders were seafarers from Cornwall. [4] [5] [6]
Matthewstown Passage Tomb is 4.5 m (fifteen feet) long and about 1.8 m (six feet) wide. There are two rows of five orthostats protruding above the ground to about 1 metre (three-and-a-half feet). [7] This grave was covered by four large stone slabs. [8] [5] [9]
A dolmen is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more vertical megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus. Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance. In many instances, the covering has eroded away, leaving only the stone "skeleton" of the mound intact.
The Mên-an-Tol is a small formation of standing stones in Cornwall, UK. It is about three miles northwest of Madron. It is also known locally as the "Crick Stone".
Tresco is the second-biggest island of the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall, England. It is 297 hectares (1.15 sq mi) in size, measuring about 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) by 1.75 kilometres (1.09 mi).
Entrance grave is a type of Neolithic and early Bronze Age chamber tomb found primarily in Great Britain. The burial monument typically consisted of a circular mound bordered by a stone curb, erected over a rectangular burial chamber and accessed by a narrow, stone lined entrance. Entrance graves have been discovered in the Isles of Scilly, west Cornwall, southeast Ireland, southwest Scotland, Brittany and the Channel Islands. They are often referred to as the Scillonian' Group, named for the Scillian Islands where the majority of entrance graves have been discovered.
Carrowmore is a large group of megalithic monuments on the Cúil Iorra Peninsula to the west of Sligo, Ireland. They were built in the 4th millennium BCE, during the Neolithic era. There are thirty surviving tombs, making Carrowmore one of the largest clusters of megalithic tombs in Ireland. It is considered one of the 'big four' along with Carrowkeel, Loughcrew and Brú na Bóinne. Carrowmore is the heart of an ancient ritual landscape which is dominated by the mountain of Knocknarea to the west. It is a protected National Monument.
Knocknarea is a large prominent hill west of Sligo town in County Sligo, Ireland, with a height of 327 metres (1,073 ft). Knocknarea is visually striking as it has steep limestone cliffs and stands on the Cúil Irra peninsula overlooking the Atlantic coast. At the summit is one of Ireland's largest cairns, known as Queen Maeve's Cairn, which is believed to contain a Neolithic passage tomb. In recent years there has been concern that the ancient cairn, a protected National Monument, is being damaged by climbers. There are also remains of several smaller tombs on the summit. Knocknarea overlooks the Carrowmore tombs and is thought to have been part of an ancient ritual landscape.
Kilmashogue or Kilmashoge is a mountain in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown county in Ireland. It is 408 metres high and forms part of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The forest plantation on its northern slope, which is composed mainly of Sitka spruce, Scots pine and beech, is a habitat for Sika deer, hares, rabbits and foxes. A number of prehistoric monuments can be found on the slopes of the mountain.
Megalithic monuments in Ireland typically represent one of several types of megalithic tombs: court cairns, passage tombs, portal tombs and wedge tombs. The remains of over 1,000 such megalithic tombs have been recorded around Ireland.
Two Rock is a mountain in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is 536 metres high and is the 382nd highest mountain in Ireland. It is the highest point of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The mountain takes its name from the two granite tors that lie to the south-east of the summit. From the summit, which is called Fairy Castle, there are views of much of the Dublin area from Tallaght to Howth to the north while Bray Head, Killiney Hill, the Great Sugar Loaf and the Wicklow Mountains are visible to the south. The summit area is mostly shallow bog while ferns and gorse cover the lower slopes. The mountain is also an important habitat for red grouse.
The Isles of Scilly is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over four miles farther south than the most southerly point of the British mainland at Lizard Point.
White Island is one of the larger unpopulated islands of the Isles of Scilly, part of the United Kingdom, and lies off the coast of the northernmost populated island of the group, St Martin's, to which it is joined by a tidal causeway, or isthmus. The island is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Geological Conservation Review site and is managed by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust on behalf of the Duchy of Cornwall.
Fenor, officially Fennor, is a village in County Waterford, Ireland between Dungarvan and Tramore. The village itself is quite small consisting almost entirely of the local school, pub, and parish church and is located on the R675 road.
Marazion Marsh is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) reserve situated in a shallow river valley, half a kilometre to the west of Marazion, Cornwall, UK. It is separated from the coast by a shingle bar and small sand dune system and contains Cornwall's largest reed bed.
Dunhill is a village, townland and civil parish in County Waterford, Ireland. It comprises a church, a primary school, a parish hall, a public house and shop. An enterprise park called Dunhill Ecopark was established in 2000 by members of the Dunhill community.
British megalith architecture is the study of those ancient cultures that built megalithic sites on the British Isles, including the research and documentation of these sites. The classification sometimes used of these cultures based on geological criteria is problematic.
Ahenny is a small village and townland in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is notable for its ancient Irish high crosses. Close to the village is the early Christian foundation of Kilclispeen monastery and in the adjoining graveyard stand two celebrated Irish High Crosses: the Ahenny High Crosses.
The Gaulstown Portal Tomb or Gaulstown Dolmen is a megalithic portal tomb situated in Gaulstown, Butlerstown in County Waterford in the Republic of Ireland. It lies about 7 km south west of Waterford City.
Duntryleague passage tomb, also known as Dermot & Grania's Bed, is a passage grave and National Monument located atop Duntryleague Hill, County Limerick, Ireland.
Knockmany passage tomb, or Anya's Cove, is an ancient burial monument on the summit of Knockmany Hill, near the village of Augher in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the remains of a Neolithic passage tomb and its stones are decorated with rare megalithic art. They are protected by a concrete chamber and mound, built in 1959 by the Department of the Environment, roughly resembling the mound that would have originally covered it. The stones can be viewed through the entrance gates. It is a monument in state care.
Passage tombs are a category of Megalithic monument from the Neolithic period. They are found in most regions of Ireland but are more prevalent in the Northern half of the island. The usage period of Irish passage tombs date from c. 3750 B.C. to about 2500 B.C. About twenty clusters are recorded in Ireland, but the best known examples are found along a curved trajectory from the west coast to the east, including the centres of Carrowmore and Carrowkeel in County Sligo, and Loughcrew and the Boyne Valley in County Meath.