Moylisha Wedge Tomb facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Moylisha Wedge Tomb |
|
|---|---|
| Native name Irish: Leaba na Saidhe |
|
| Labbanasighe | |
 |
|
| Type | wedge-shaped gallery grave |
| Location | Moylisha, Shillelagh, County Wicklow, Ireland |
| Area | Slaney Valley |
| Elevation | 247 m (810 ft) |
| Height | 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) |
| Built | c. 2300–1000 BC |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Official name | Moylisha |
| Reference no. | 368 |
The Moylisha Wedge Tomb, also known as Labbanasighe, is a very old stone tomb found in County Wicklow, Ireland. It's a special type of ancient burial place called a wedge-shaped gallery grave. Today, it is protected as a National Monument because of its historical importance.
Contents
Where is Moylisha Wedge Tomb?
You can find the Moylisha Wedge Tomb on the northern side of Moylisha Hill. It's about 6.1 kilometers (about 3.8 miles) west of a town called Shillelagh.
History of the Ancient Tomb
When Was It Built?
The Moylisha Wedge Tomb was built a very long time ago, between about 2300 and 1000 BC. This time period is known as the Copper Age or the Bronze Age. People during these ages started using copper and then bronze to make tools and weapons.
What Does the Name Mean?
The old name "Labbanasighe" comes from the Irish words leaba na saidhe. This can mean "Bed of the female dog".
However, the name might also be "Labbanasaighde," which means "Bed of the Arrow" or "Bed of the Shaft." This idea comes from things found during archaeological digs.
Local stories in Parkbridge have a different idea about the name. People there say the name sounds like "Lob-na-Sy (Síthe)." They believe this means "Bed of the Fairies."
What Was Found There?
In 1937, a person named Gearóid Ó h-Iceadha led an excavation at the site. An excavation is when archaeologists carefully dig up an area to find old objects.
During this dig, they found some interesting things. They found pieces of old pottery, some cremated (burned) bones, and two stone disks. They also found two parts of a sandstone mould. This mould was used to make spearheads with a special shape.
What Does Moylisha Wedge Tomb Look Like?
The Moylisha Wedge Tomb is made up of a rectangular cairn. A cairn is a mound of stones. This one is about 13 meters (43 feet) long and 10 meters (33 feet) wide.
Inside the cairn is a long stone passage called a gallery. This gallery is about 7.5 meters (25 feet) long. It runs from the northwest to the southeast.
Inside the Gallery
The gallery has a small front room, called an antechamber. A low stone sill (like a step) separates this small room from the main chamber.
The main chamber is about 6 meters (20 feet) long. It gets wider as you move towards the southeast end. There is also a single large stone, called a roofstone, lying inside the gallery. It was once part of the roof but has moved.
