- Kilmashogue
Kilmashogue (or "Cill Mochíog" in "Irish") is a sacred
megalithic site inRathfarnham , Co.Dublin ,Ireland on top of a mountain with the same name. The mountain is 1,339 feet (408 metres) high and is a national heritage site. It is believed the tombs date back to around2000 BC .Information
The megalithic tombs consist of massive rock slabs and boggles the mind how they were transported up the mountain and lifted into place.
It is believed that prehistoric man built the tombs on the top of Kilmashouge due to the perfect view over
Dublin Bay and ease of spotting hostile persons. Local streams would have provided the local inhabitants with fresh water and forests near by would have had plenty of wild boar, deer and rabbit.Clay pots and bones were some of the artefacts discovered when the tombs were excavated.
Kilmashogue is placed in thick woodland about 100 metres above a modern car-park on the
Wicklow Way .It is a ruined Wedge-tomb withcairn . Severalcists were inserted into thecairn at a later date. The roofless gallery is triple-walled, and the very high sill-stone between theantechamber and main chamber is another unusual feature in IrishMegalithic monument s.Chambered cairn s are found a lot inScotland .A standing-stone can be found to the east of the monument on the edge of a private road.800 meters south west of the monument the ruined "Larch Hill " portal-tomb can be found, with remnants of a forecourt, substantial remains of itscairn , and one portal-stone standing about 3 metres tall. The other portal-stone has fallen and is lying beneath the roots of a tree. The fallencapstone is a slab around 2.4 metres square.The
cairn in Kilmashogue is robbed out and flattened. Several kerb stones remain in place as does the floor of thecairn .The surrounding ditch and bank can still clearly be seen although most have been a lot deeper. The gallery walls are still evident and these are double lined, usually a style found in wedge tombs. The entrance to the rectangular chamber faces directly towards the mound atMontpelier .See also
*
Larch Hill References
* http://www.rathfarnham.com/historical%20monuments.html
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