This, the more southerly of the three tombs in Marblehill, is situated on rolling pasture land about \ mile south-west of the large Wedge-tomb, Ga. 27. The mon- ument is incorporated in a fence bordering the southern side of a roadway leading through the estate to Marble Hill House. The monument is ruined. It consists of the remains of a small short gallery orientated roughly W-E. At the east are two sidestones and a backstone forming the end of the gallery. Immediately beyond the southern sidestone is a low stone which is probably the base of a third sidestone. At the west end of the gallery is a stone, leaning heavily to the west, which apparently closed the entrance. A loose displaced stone,
COUNTY GALWAY 23
within the gallery and leaning against the northern sidestone, is 1-25 m. long, -25 m. thick and i-oo m. high. The remains of a mound incorporating the tomb runs under the road fence at the north. The mound is 10 m. long (E-W) and is -50 m. in average height. A loose block, 1-25 m. in maximum dimension, lies on the western end of the mound. The large southern sidestone leans inwards. It is 1-95 m. long, -30 m. thick and 1-20 m. high. The opposite sidestone is 1-85 m. long, and -35 m. thick. Though only •65 m. of its height is exposed it would, in fact, be about -20 m. higher than the southern sidestone, if this were erect. The low stone continuing the line of the southern side of the gallery is 75 m. long and -35 m. high. The stone closing the east end of the gallery is set outside the ends of the sidestones. It is i-6o m. long and -40 m. thick. It leans inwards and is about equal in height to the southern sidestone. The stone at the western end of the gallery is 2-20 m. long, -30 m. thick and, if erect, would be i-oo m. high. The gallery would be about 3 m. long if the stone at the western end was erect. The original width at the west cannot be ascertained but it narrows sharply towards the east where it is about -8o m. wide at the backstone.
Borlase: The Dolmens of Ireland, 106-107 (one °f Nos. 1-8 in Barony of Leitrim). Stokes: Revue Archeologique (1882), 21. O.S.L : 14/D.2, 522.
article from:
SURVEY OF THE MEGALITHIC TOMBS OF IRELAND VOLUME III COUNTIES GALWAY – ROSCOMMON – LEITRIM LONGFORD – WESTMEATH – LAOIGHIS OFFALY – KILDARE – CAVAN
by Ruaidhri de Valera and Sean O Nuallain