Labbacallee wedge tomb

Labbacallee wedge tomb (Irish: Leaba Chaillí "Hag's Bed") is a large pre-historic burial monument, located 8 km (5.0 mi) north-west of Fermoy and 2 km (1.2 mi) south-east of Glanworth, County Cork, Ireland. It is the largest Irish wedge tomb and dates from roughly 2300 BC.[1]

Labbacallee

Features

The site has three large capstones which slope downwards towards the back, the largest being 7.8 m (26 ft) long and weighing 10 tonnes (9.8 long tons; 11 short tons). The gallery below is made up of a large rectangular chamber, with a small one behind it, divided by a slab. The gallery is triple-walled, buttressed at the back by three slabs set parallel to the axis of the tomb. To the front of the gallery are the remains of a large rectangular unroofed antechamber which is wider than the gallery and separated from it by a large slab.[1] Outside this there was a further row of stones running off at an angle, but few of the original stones remain.

Excavations

In 1934 excavations revealed a number of inhumations, fragments of a late Stone Age decorated pot, and fragments of bone and stone. Local folklore associates the site with the Celtic Hag-Goddess Cailleach Bheur, and during the excavations the site was found to contain the remains of a woman. Although the body had been positioned within one chamber of the tomb, her skull was found in another chamber.

References
  1. Weir, A (1980). Early Ireland. A Field Guide. Belfast: Blackstaff Press. p. 118.

Sources
  • "Labbacallee". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  • Noonan, Damien (2001). "Castles & Ancient Monuments of Ireland", Arum Press. ISBN 1-85410-752-6
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