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Altar Wedge Tomb
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Altar Wedge Tomb is a wedge-shaped gallery grave and national monument located outside the village of Schull, in County Cork, Ireland.[2]
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Location
Altar Wedge Tomb is located 6.7 km (4.2 mi) WSW of Schull, on a cliffedge near Toormore Bay.[3]
History
Wedge tombs of this kind were built in Ireland in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age, c. 2500–2000 BC.[4]
Cremated burials took place around 2000 BC and pit burials around 1200 BC. Around 200, a pit was dug and filled in with fish, shellfish and cetacean bones, presumably as a ritual practice.[5]
Despite the name, there is no evidence that the "altar" was ever used for sacrifice. During penal times, it was used as a Mass rock in the 18th century.[6] A holy well stood across the road.[7]
It was excavated in summer 1989 by Dr. William O'Brien and Madeline Duggan. Material found included cremated human bones, a tooth, worked flint, charcoal, periwinkles, fish bones, and limpets.[8]
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Description
The entrance was aligned ENE–WSW, possibly with Mizen Peak (Carn Uí Néit) and maybe to catch the setting sun at Samhain (1 November).[9]
The tomb consists of a trapezoidal orthostatic gallery 3.42 m (11.2 ft) long, 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) wide at the west end 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) at the east.[citation needed]
A roof-stone 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) long is still above the east end, and a second rests against the westerly stones at either side of the gallery. There is no cairn material or evidence of kerbstones; they may have been removed for road construction in the 19th century.[8][10]
References
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