The Cabragh Wedge Tomb, also called Cabragh I or the Giant's Grave, is a

wedge-shaped gallery grave A gallery grave is a form of megalithic tomb built primarily during the Neolithic Age in Europe in which the main gallery of the tomb is entered without first passing through an antechamber or hallway. There are at least four major types of ga ...

and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

located in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Location

Cabragh Wedge Tomb is located west of

Coolaney Coolaney () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. Coolaney sits at the foot of the Ox Mountains with the river Owen Beg running through it around which is a walk. The remains of an old mill are located along the riverside walk, and the remains ...

in the foothills of the

Ox Mountains The Ox Mountains or Slieve Gamph (, 'storm mountains') are a mountain range in County Sligo on the west coast of Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Eu ...

. A tributary of the Owenbeg River flows to the west.

History

This wedge tomb was built c. 2500–2000 BC, in the Copper or Bronze Age. The entrance faces southwest, towards the setting sun at the

winter solstice The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...

Description

The tomb is long with double outer walling and entrance stones. There are two burial chambers and long, with the roof stones collapsed inward.

References

{{Reflist Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd millennium BC National monuments in County Sligo Archaeological sites in County Sligo Tombs in the Republic of Ireland