I find pre-historical buildings fascinating – like the Dublin tomb. We have no idea why they’re there, who designed them or how. The lack of writing means we will never know. All we do know is what we can conclude from the ruins which is never enough. This aura of mystery piques my interest.
We drove out of Dublin, heading up the Dublin mountains south of the city. Our aim was to see if we could find the Kilmashogue Wedge Tomb. My friends had lived in Dublin for a year or so and hadn’t heard of it. I had a vague map reference but we were confident we would get there.
The megalithic tomb itself is about 4 000 years old1. The Royal Irish Academy excavated it recently in 19532 so I had high hopes for the state of the site even though the site used to be larger. People all over Europe would cannibalise forgotten or unused sites for building materials so any major above-ground elements are long gone1 3.
I wrote about this tradition when I visited Bohemia’s Bezděz castle.
These tombs would have had a commemorative mound of stones known as a cairn to show where the tomb itself is2. This is like the Maltese ‘Borg’ which is a connection to my family name!
We parked in the Kilmashogue Recreation Area’s muddy car park. A soft breeze promising something cooler danced around us. There is an incredible view of Dublin and the bay from here. We took a few minutes to admire it and spot landmarks. Behind us the tall conifer trees huddled together as they swayed in the wind, waiting for us to find what they were hiding.
It’s not far from Drimnagh castle which is well-hidden in Dublin.
It didn’t take much wandering around to find it. One minute we were watching our step and crawling through the trees. The next, the trees parted to reveal this extraordinary circular tomb in front of us. It’s about 4 – 5 metres in diameter but also has a triple wall on its exterior1 3. These kind of tombs tend to have double walls so this is unusual. No one knows why they used a triple one here.
I’m surprised at how close it is to the main car park. It isn’t signposted so I doubt many people know it’s there. We circled around the tomb in reverence. The forest is silent there, as if mother nature is also paying her respects. The air is cooler which adds an eerie chill to the sensation of being in a holy place.
I spotted a cist in the middle of the tomb1. This is a coffin made of stone. Historians think this was a later addition but they did find Bronze Age artefacts in there which matches the time frame1.
The three of us were silent as we hopped around taking photos. It’s as if we’d agreed to be solemn around this burial spot. The tree tops swayed above us, making the light change as they oscillated in the wind. The forest grew around the tomb so sunlight streams through on to the ruins. In the forest, the trees are too dense to let proper light in which adds to the sense of mystery – a sunlit opening in a dark forest!
We walked around and inspected the place to our heart’s content. Despite people arriving and leaving we couldn’t hear them. They didn’t disturb us because they didn’t head into the copse. Within minutes we were back in the car park savouring the sun’s warmth. It’s surprising to see a place like this is not well-known given how easy it is to reach it. It’s a good thing too as too many visitors might ruin it!
Share this with friends who don’t know they live near ancient burial grounds.