This huge court tomb wasn't in our list. We found it by chance while we were driving east of the village of Malin More because we took the wrong turn at a crossroads and were looking for a spot to make a turn. Sometimes getting lost has its advantages. The tomb has its own car park along the road. From here a stile gives access to a footbridge across a stream and then another stile gives access to a concrete footpath across the bog. The footpath is protected on both sides by a fence, and another stile at the end, from the intrusion of sheep. Despite this, the footpath is a mess from sheep... droppings.
The tomb is a real giant! I hadn't a chance to take physical measurements of the monument due the imminent rain, but I reckon it's 45 metres long on its east-west axis, and it's about 15 metres wide at its wider point. The courtyard takes up at least half of the size of the whole tomb and is complete and horseshoe shaped. The entrance of the courtyard is towards the east (80°). A large stone lies in the middle of the court. There are two galleries with their entrance facing east, both divided into two chambers by jamb stones. The north one is a little smaller and it seems it has a subsidiary chamber in its north cairn wall. Two other subsidiary chambers are on each side of the court cairn. The south chamber is more intact, with the roofstone slipped into the court. The north one is more disturbed and damaged. The cairn to the west is in rather good conditions, apart from a section towards the northwest end that crumbled down leaving a hollow in the fabric of the structure.
Unfortunately the weather changed to the rain and we had to leave, but we were happy that a wrong turn at a crossroads made us find this beauty.
|