As I approached this tomb from the next field all I could make out was a mass of long grass and brambles. When I reached it all I saw was a mass of long grass and brambles. When I looked at it from the other side I was pleasantly surprised though. Not overwhelmed, but at least there was something there.
A single roofstone, 1.8m long, rests on low wall stones. The walls continue beyond the roof and the gallery would have been about 6m long.
I'm not sure what brought me back here - I think I'd simply forgotten that I'd visited it, but I was passing and so wandered up the hill. Perhaps this is because I had the wrong name for the site and now know its real name - it is not Cappakea, but Ardataggle.
The undergrowth was a bit less intrusive this time and I think the view was clearer. Slightly south of west, the direction in which the tomb faces , a wide low plateau-like hill hogs the horizon. This is in Ballycar South, but the hill appears to have no specific name.
The tomb itself sits on a northward facing spur at the northeast end of a long, low ridge. To the north west is Knockaunnamoughilly and Seefin where the two tombs at Gortacullin (County Clare) and Knockshanvo (County Clare) are located. To the north is the elegant cone of Lackareagh Mountain.
This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide. Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate. Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies. The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out. UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system. ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps. |