Direction Ireland

Labbacallee Wedge Tomb

Southwest Ireland | County Cork

Labbacallee Wedge Tomb is located 2 km southeast of Glanworth, County Cork (8 km north-west of Fermoy). Its name comes from Irish words "leaba caillighe", which means "the bed of the hag/witch". The monument dates from the early Bronze Age and it is the largest wedge tomb in Ireland. The gallery is 7.75 m long, divided on two chambers (6.2 m and 0.9 m long) separated by a upright slab and roofed by 3 large stone slabs. The entrance at the western end is closed by large stone. Probably whole structure was covered by cairn measuring around 15m long and 19 m wide. The earliest antiquarian report of Labbacallee including description and sketch was made around 1675 by Mr Gethings, and then was mentioned in Charles Smith's "History of Cork" published in 1750. Labbacallee was also the first megalithic site in Ireland, where have been conducted real archeological excavations in 1934 by Harold Leask and Liam Price. During that research, in the main chamber they uncovered animal bones and skeletons of an adult male and a child, as well the skull of adult female placed in upright position. The headless skeleton of the woman was found in sealed small chamber. Radiocarbon research showed that she was buried between 2450 and 2140 BC. At the western end of the monument, outside of main chamber they found remains of two small stone cists which contained shreds of Early Bronze Age pottery and unburnt human bones. Probably the cists were added few centuries after the tomb was built.

• OPENING HOURS AND TICKETS :
  • Freely accessible
• CAR PARK :
  • Roadside