Megalithic tomb - portal tomb, Brittas, Co. Wicklow

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Megalithic Tombs

Megalithic tomb – portal tomb, Brittas, Co. Wicklow

On a northeast-facing slope above the Potters River in County Wicklow, a portal tomb sits in a state of quiet disarray, half-consumed by vegetation and hemmed in by generations of field clearance.

The roofstone, the great capstone that would once have crowned the burial chamber, has slipped from its position and now rests against the northern portal stone and backstone. A loose slab between the two uprights may be the original doorstone, displaced at some point in the intervening millennia. The chamber itself faces uphill to the west, which runs counter to the more commonly observed eastward orientation of portal tombs, a type of Neolithic megalithic structure typically comprising two tall upright portal stones at the entrance, a backstone, and a large capstone overhead.

The site was noted in print as far back as 1854 to 1855, when Tuomey recorded it, and again in 1934 by Price, whose account remains one of the more detailed early descriptions. The backstone leans markedly inward, suggesting either deliberate ancient construction or the gradual effect of soil movement and the weight of accumulated debris over thousands of years. Scattered flint visible along the southern edge of the field hints at further prehistoric activity in the vicinity, though the dense overgrowth and piled field clearance around the base of the monument make close inspection difficult. Portal tombs of this kind date broadly to the Neolithic period, roughly 4000 to 3000 BC, and were used as collective burial places, often later sealed and incorporated into larger earthen mounds.

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