kiltiernan

Borlase graphically described this rather ungainly portal-tomb as 'a sphinx-like monster, advancing out of a rocky hill on some half-dozen short and rickety legs'. Its unusual shape immediately draws the eye, and it stands out boldly in a field which has many natural formations of large boulders. The 40-ton capstone is 22 feet long and covers an elongated chamber which yielded coarse Neolithic pottery. Immediately behind the tomb is a raised rocky ledge, and it has been suggested that the capstone was emplaced by sliding it from this onto the supporting uprights. The availability of a suitable slab of rock, especially a very heavy one, must have influenced the siting of many dolmens.