Megalithic tomb - court tomb, Cashelcummin, Co. Donegal
Hidden amongst dense bushes and overgrown foliage, 600 metres from the western edge of Killybegs Harbour, lies the remarkable Cashelcummin court tomb.
Megalithic tomb - court tomb, Cashelcummin, Co. Donegal
This Neolithic monument sits on a low rise of rough, uneven ground overlooking the harbour, and has been incorporated into what appears to be a later circular stone enclosure, or cashel, though only the western portion of this secondary structure remains clearly visible today. The tomb itself consists of a stone gallery approximately 7.5 metres long, divided by segmenting jambs into two chambers; the outer chamber being both longer and wider than the inner one. What makes this site particularly fascinating is the survival of corbelling along both sides of the outer gallery, with three lintels still resting on the gallery sides covering much of the inner half, though two of the eastern lintels were likely placed after the tomb’s primary period of use.
The entrance to the gallery features two well-matched jambs standing 0.85 metres apart, with the northern jamb rising to about a metre in exposed height. Beyond these entrance stones, the remains of what was once a substantial court are still visible, with five courtstones surviving on the northern side and evidence suggesting the court originally stretched at least 7.5 metres in length and around 6 metres in width. The courtstones on the northern side range from 0.4 to 1.1 metres in height, whilst a single courtstone remains on the southern side at 0.9 metres high. The front chamber of the gallery spans roughly 4 metres in length and varies between 2.4 and 2.7 metres in width, narrowing to 1.6 metres at its inner end. Three tiers of corbelling survive on the northern side of this chamber, with the uppermost corbel measuring an impressive 2 metres square.
The inner chamber, accessed through the segmenting jambs which stand 0.6 metres apart, would have been approximately 3 metres long and between 1.55 and 1.9 metres wide, narrowing towards the back. The construction technique employed here, with orthostats forming the chamber sides and a tall backstone closing the rear, is typical of court tombs from this period. Throughout the monument, numerous displaced slabs and stones lie scattered about, including what appears to be a displaced roofstone measuring 2.3 metres by 1 metre within the front chamber. The entire complex has been somewhat altered by the construction of the later cashel, which has created a slight fall in ground level towards the southwest in the court area, and incorporated the back of the gallery into a low concentric bank.





