Altar Wedge Tomb

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

Altar Wedge Tomb
Native name
Irish: Tuama Dingeach na hAltóra
Altar Cromlech
Typewedge-shaped gallery grave
LocationAltar, Schull,
County Cork, Ireland
Coordinates51.513756°N 9.644037°W / 51.513756; -9.644037
Builtc. 2500 BC
Official nameAltar Wedge Tomb
Reference no.645
Location of Altar Wedge Tomb in Ireland

Location

Altar Wedge Tomb is located 6.7 km (4.2 mi) WSW of Schull, on a cliffedge near Toormore Bay.[2]

History

Wedge tombs of this kind were built in Ireland in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age, c. 2500–2000 BC.[3]

Cremated burials took place in 2000 BC and pit burials c. 1200 BC. Around AD 200 a pit was dug and filled in with fish, shellfish and cetacean bones, presumably as a ritual practice.[4]

Despite the name, there is no evidence that the "altar" was ever used for sacrifice. It was used as a Mass rock in the 18th century AD.[5] A holy well stood across the road.

It was excavated in summer 1989 by Dr. William O'Brien and Madeline Duggan. Material found included cremated human adult bones, a tooth, worked flint, charcoal, periwinkles, fish bones and limpets.[6]

Description
Altar wedge tomb under the Milky Way

The entrance was aligned ENE–WSW, possibly with Mizen Peak (Carn Uí Néit) and maybe to catch the setting sun at Samhain (November 1).[7]

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.

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 AD.[6][8]

References
  1. (Ireland), Ordnance Survey; Valera, Ruaidhrí De; Nualláin, Seán Ó (1 January 1982). "Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland: Counties: Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary". Stationery Office – via Google Books.
  2. Wilson, Mike. "Altar Wedge Tomb ~ mega-what.com Ancient Sacred Places".
  3. Mathieu, James R. (1 January 2004). Exploring the role of analytical scale in archaeological interpretation. Archaeopress. ISBN 9781841716190 – via Google Books.
  4. Jones, Carleton Shepherd (1 January 2007). Temples of Stone: Exploring the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Collins Press. ISBN 9781905172054 – via Google Books.
  5. "Altar Wedge Tomb and Mass Rock – Voices from the Dawn".
  6. "842 « Excavations".
  7. Scarre, Chris (8 July 2005). Monuments and Landscape in Atlantic Europe: Perception and Society During the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Routledge. ISBN 9781134482207 – via Google Books.
  8. Schorr, Frank. "Altar Wedge Tomb".
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