Megalithic structure, Caherfadda, Co. Clare

Co. Clare |

Megalithic Tombs

Megalithic structure, Caherfadda, Co. Clare

On the limestone pavement of Caherfadda in County Clare, a small wedge tomb sits in a state of quiet collapse, its capstone broken into three fragments and slumped into the chamber it once sealed.

Wedge tombs are among the most numerous megalithic monuments in Ireland, built roughly between 2500 and 2000 BC and typically oriented with their wider, taller end facing west, towards the setting sun. This one follows that convention closely: the chamber measures 2.15 metres east to west, opening wider at the western end at 1.2 metres across and narrowing to 0.95 metres at the eastern end, with a maximum surviving height of just 0.75 metres. The whole structure is built from limestone slabs set upright on their long edges, a construction method that gives these monuments a distinctive low, blade-like profile.

The tomb was identified by Carleton Jones and sits within a large multiperiod field system, meaning the landscape around it has been divided, farmed, and reorganised across many centuries, likely long after the tomb itself was built. The northern sidestone, 2.15 metres long, has split into two fragments over time, while the southern sidestone at 1.75 metres remains unbroken. At the western end of the chamber, a blocking stone measuring 0.8 metres long and 0.6 metres high leans outward to the west, giving the monument a slightly dishevelled posture when viewed head on. One fragment of the fallen capstone rests against the southern sidestone, as though propped there deliberately. About 15 metres to the east lies the south-western annexe of a separate enclosure, suggesting this particular patch of pavement has accumulated archaeological interest across several different periods of use.

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