The Meehambee Dolmen is a megalithic
portal tomb, dating from around 3500 BC, in
County Roscommon
County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...
, Ireland.
Two local schoolchildren unearthed two stone axes in the 1960s.
[Taken from information board onsite.]
Initially supported on six upright portals, 2.3 metres high, the capstone is estimated to weigh twenty-four tonnes. The portal stone supporting the back of the capstone has collapsed, allowing the capstone to slide backward out of position and causing the doorstone to collapse. As a result, the capstone now rests at a 45-degree angle.
It is thought that these tombs, of which over 1,200 have been identified in Ireland, were either the burial place of a single important king or chieftain or perhaps the tombs of several tribe members who inhabited the area in the
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
era.
It was known locally as in the 1930s.
Location
The tomb is located in Mihanboy, County Roscommon, a few hundred metres from the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...
. It is accessed by a
bridle path
A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider ...
off a local road from the
R362 road in the village of
Bellanamullia on the western outskirts of
Athlone
Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...
.
Gallery
Image:IMG Meehambee2820.jpg, Meehambee Dolmen
Image:IMG Meehambee2816.jpg, Meehambee Dolmen
Meehambee Dolmen 29-10-2015 2.JPG, Meehambee Dolmen
Image:IMG Meehambee2813.jpg, Camouflaged in moss, hardly visible on the bridle path
File:Information Panel Meehambee Dolmen.jpg, Information panel at site entrance
See also
*
Megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...
*
Neolithic Europe
The European Neolithic is the period from the arrival of Neolithic (New Stone Age) technology and the associated population of Early European Farmers in Europe, (the approximate time of the first farming societies in Greece) until –1700 BC (t ...
References
External links
{{European Standing Stones
Dolmens in Ireland
Archaeological sites in County Roscommon
Tombs in the Republic of Ireland
Buildings and structures completed in the 4th millennium BC