Megalithic tomb - portal tomb, Killaclohane, Co. Kerry

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Megalithic Tombs

Megalithic tomb – portal tomb, Killaclohane, Co. Kerry

In Killacloghane Wood in County Kerry, a cluster of massive fallen slabs lies in what appears to be a deliberately hollowed-out depression in the ground, and nobody is entirely sure what it is.

That uncertainty is itself part of what makes the site worth knowing about. Archaeology tends to present its conclusions with quiet confidence; this place refuses to cooperate.

A portal tomb, for those unfamiliar with the term, is one of Ireland's oldest monument types, a Neolithic burial structure typically consisting of two tall upright stones forming an entrance, or portal, supporting a large capstone that tilts dramatically skyward at the front. The example at Killaclohane, if that is indeed what it is, has long since collapsed. The largest slab on the ground measures 3.10 metres by 2.40 metres and is 0.50 metres thick, oriented roughly north to south, and partly overlapped at its northern end by a second, smaller slab that appears to have broken away from it. Beneath the larger slab, on its western side, lie two further partly-overlapping stones which may once have been the portal uprights themselves. Calculations based on their dimensions suggest that, if they were ever standing, the southern stone would have reached approximately 2.15 metres in height and the northern one over 1.70 metres. What makes the identification tentative rather than settled is the condition of the remains: prostrate, disturbed, and ambiguous. The closest comparison is a confirmed portal tomb in the same townland, roughly a kilometre to the west-southwest, and the resemblance is suggestive rather than conclusive. Any firm identification, as has been noted, must wait on further investigation.

The site sits on a level shoulder partway up a gentle slope within the wood, a setting that feels less like dramatic moorland and more like a quiet woodland clearing. The slabs are not standing stones to be spotted from a distance; a visitor would need to be looking for them deliberately, and looking closely once found.

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