Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 has a wealth of impressive historical monuments. In Ireland there are four types of megalithic tombs: court cairn

Court cairn

The court cairn or court tomb is a megalithic type of chamber tomb and gallery grave, specifically a variant of the chambered cairn, found in western and northern Ireland, and in mostly southwest Scotland...

s, passage tombs, wedge tombs and portal dolmens.

Court tombs

There are about 300 of this type of tomb (sometimes called a lobster-claw cairn) in Ireland. These tombs have an open east-facing entrance court which leads into a number of rectangular chambers (up to four). The chambers are roofed on the inside by corbelling

Corbel arch

A corbel arch is an arch-like construction method that uses the architectural technique of corbeling to span a space or void in a structure, such as an entranceway in a wall or as the span of a bridge...

. Each of these chambers may contain inhumations

Burial

Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...

 and cremated

Cremation

Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....

 remains. Surrounding these chambers is a low dry stone wall with orthostats at the extremities.

Passage tombs

There are many tombs of this type in Ireland. Examples include Newgrange

Newgrange

Newgrange is a prehistoric monument located in County Meath, on the eastern side of Ireland, about one kilometre north of the River Boyne. It was built around 3200 BC , during the Neolithic period...

, Knowth

Knowth

Knowth is a Neolithic passage grave and an ancient monument of Brú na Bóinne in the valley of the River Boyne in Ireland.Knowth is the largest of all passage graves situated within the Brú na Bóinne complex. The site consists of one large mound and 17 smaller satellite tombs...

, and Dowth

Dowth

Dowth is a Neolithic passage tomb which stands in the Boyne Valley, County Meath, Ireland. It is found at .Dating from about 2,5002000 BCE, is the second oldest behind Newgrange of the three principal tombs of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site a complex of passage-tombs...

.The passage tomb is a large mound of earth or stone with a narrow passage leading from outside to a central chamber or chambers.

Wedge tombs

Between 500 and 550 of these wedge tombs survive today. They are generally found in the west and north west of Ireland. Their sloping roof and narrowing walls at one end produce their characteristic wedge shape.

Portal dolmens

There are 163 portal tombs in Ireland. The majority located in the northern half of the country. The tomb as a straight sided chamber often narrowed at the rear. The entrance is marked by tall portal stones. On top lays a huge single cap stone resting on the portal stones on the front and sloping at the rear where it rests on the backstone. In the majority of cases the tomb entrance faces the east towards the sunrise. This is not always the case though as many tombs face different directions. Examples of Portal Tombs Kilmogue, Co. Kilkenny, Poulnabrone in the Burren, Co Clare and Knockeen, Co. Waterford.