Mautiagh : Court Tomb
Visit Notes
Sunday, 28th November 2004
Although this double court tomb is very ruined it's in a great location! The lond zig-zagging track that climbs the steep hillside to reach the tomb is an experience in itself. At several points there is a sheer drop on one side and a vertical rockface on the other.
The remains of the tomb are split in two but a wall and a more modern fence. The cairn is aligned east-west and the wall runs north-south across the middle of it. On the east side of the wall ire the broken remains of one gallery. Just a few shattered slabs of limestone poke out of the cairn rubble and bits of peat that still cover part of it. On the west side is 25m of cairn with the most intact piece of gallery, but even this is very ruined.
However, as I said it is the location that makes this site. It is situated at the top of a stepp valley overlooking some massive sink-holes, which seems to have been a very common practice in these limestone areas. The more I come across this aspect of tomb locations the more I think that the sink-holes must have had a special meaning to the ancients that built these great monuments - possibly gateways to the underworld?
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A Random Selection of Nearby Monuments
9.1 Km (N) there is a Court Tomb at Ballymunterhiggin (Co. Donegal).
9.2 Km (SSW) there is a Court Tomb at Barracashlaun.
6.2 Km (SE) there is a Wedge Tomb at Lisdarush.
5.6 Km (NW) there is a Court Tomb at Aghaderrard.
A Selection of Other Court Tombs
 Craigs (Co. Antrim) |  Cloghfin (Co. Tyrone) |  Creevykeel (Co. Sligo) |
 Carnagat (Co. Tyrone) |  The Cashell (Co. Monaghan) |  Ballyglass (Co. Mayo) |
About Coordinates Displayed
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This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide. Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate. Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies. The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out. UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system. ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps. |
