Megalithic tomb - wedge tomb, An Chill Bheag, Co. Donegal
About 200 metres east of Teelin Bay's outer edge, this wedge tomb commands spectacular views southward across Donegal Bay towards the Mayo and Sligo coastlines.
Megalithic tomb - wedge tomb, An Chill Bheag, Co. Donegal
The monument sits amongst rocky terrain that now serves as rough pasture, with rising ground behind limiting views inland. Like many Irish megalithic tombs, this one has survived thousands of years in this windswept landscape, though not without considerable damage and disturbance over time.
The tomb’s gallery stretches at least five metres in length, designed with the characteristic wedge tomb feature of decreasing in both height and width from its wider western entrance towards the narrower eastern end. The entrance itself is particularly interesting, flanked by two upright facade stones with a central orthostat creating a divided doorway; a relatively uncommon feature in Irish megalithic architecture. The dividing stone stands 1.15 metres high, whilst the flanking stones reach 1.2 metres and 1 metre respectively. The gallery walls consist of multiple sidestones, with four contiguous stones surviving along the southern side and three along the northern side, their heights gradually decreasing as the passage narrows eastward.
Evidence suggests this tomb once had a more complete structure than what remains today. Three outer wall stones survive beyond the northern gallery wall, indicating the monument originally had double walling, a feature that would have helped support a covering cairn. Indeed, grass grown stone masses between the gallery sides and outer walls, rising about half a metre high, likely represent the remnants of this cairn. A large roofstone, measuring 2.3 by 1.3 metres, still rests in position towards the eastern end, though it appears partially displaced. Beyond this, several fallen slabs and a modern field wall that cuts close to the southern side have obscured the tomb’s eastern terminus, making it difficult to determine the gallery’s original full extent.





