Megalithic tomb - portal tomb, Muntermellan, Co. Donegal

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Megalithic Tombs

Megalithic tomb – portal tomb, Muntermellan, Co. Donegal

On a grassy shelf overlooking Dunfanaghy and the inner reaches of Sheep Haven Bay, the Muntermellan portal tomb sits within an impressive stone cairn on the south-eastern slopes of the Horn Head peninsula.

The monument occupies a small, level tract of pasture about 100 metres long, flanked by rocky ridges roughly 40 metres apart, with the tomb built against the base of the eastern ridge. From this vantage point, the ground drops sharply southward towards the bay some 600 metres below, offering sweeping views across the landscape as far as Muckish Mountain, 10 kilometres distant.

The long cairn stretches 24 metres from north to south and measures 9 to 10 metres wide for most of its length, gradually narrowing towards its southern end. Rising over a metre in height and constructed from stone slabs, some up to a metre across, the cairn has acquired a rough wall of heaped stones along its south-eastern edge over time. The portal tomb chamber itself stands nearly 5 metres back from the cairn's broadly rounded northern end. This relatively modest chamber, measuring 1.8 metres long and narrowing from 1 metre to 0.8 metres wide, was built using thin stone slabs and is now filled with stones.

The tomb's most striking features are its two tall portal stones, set lengthwise at the chamber entrance, with the eastern stone reaching 2.5 metres in height whilst its western companion stands slightly lower, possibly due to breakage. Between them sits a pointed doorstone, about 1.3 metres high, which effectively blocks entry to the chamber as its peak rises above the level of the subsidiary roofstone. The chamber's original massive roofstone, measuring 3 metres long and up to 1.5 metres wide, now lies displaced against the western side of the structure; its weight and size suggest the relatively thin portal stones were perhaps ill-suited to support it. A smaller subsidiary roofstone still covers the rear portion of the chamber, resting on the side stones. Historical records from the Ordnance Survey in the mid-19th century confirm the monument was already in this displaced state by the 1840s, suggesting it has remained largely unchanged for at least 175 years.

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Pete F
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