Case Study 3

Working alongside the National Monument Officer - Christine Grant
Much of the Burren holds an unknown amount of unrecorded forts, mound walls, wedge tombs etc. many of which are not being protected and are being damaged in some cases due to lack of awareness and are becoming overgrown with hazel scrub.  In order to work towards conserving the archaeology of the Burren, the BCVs have been working closely with the National Monument Officer for the region, Christine Grant in clearing scrub, doing preliminary excavations and helping out with survey work.  All this work gives a clearer picture of what exists.

Case Study 3 Extract Scrub Clearance at Teergonean Court Tomb, Doolin  

Thanks to everyone for their hard work on Saturday and to the BurrenBeo Trust for agreeing to take on the task.  Thanks also for your good spirits and perseverance in spite of inclement weather conditions and the ‘bag dragging’.  The work completed has made a tremendous difference at the court tomb.  You will all have heard one of the landowners explain that changes to the grazing regime under the REPS scheme and a reduction in the number of farmers using the winterage has led to the increase in scrub growth in the area and the particularly dense growth around the court tomb.  Thanks to your efforts the tomb is now more accessible and any further potential damage by tree roots has been halted.  It would be good to have a second day there and clear some more of the area.  Also to my shame we never paused to remember the people who were buried there so long ago, we’ll do that next time.

Court Tombs

Court tombs date from the Neolithic (Stone Age) and are one type of megalithic tomb.  Other megalithic tombs types are Portal Tombs such as Poulnabrone, Passage Tombs such as Newgrange and Wedge Tombs, like those at Parknabinnia and Gleninsheen. Court Tombs are so called because they have a court area in front of the burial chambers.  The court is generally defined by a series of large upright stones.  The shape of the court area varies but classic courts are oval or U-shaped.  Access to the burial chambers is through the court area.  The number of burial chambers varies, but two chambers would be the most common number.  The burial chambers are generally covered by a mound or cairn of stones, being rectangular or trapezoidal in plan (see reconstruction
drawing below). A few examples have a court and chambers at both ends of the mound (double court tombs) while a few contain additional chambers in the back or the sides of the mound.  Burials placed in these monuments were generally not burnt (inhumations), although some cremated remains have been found at excavated sites.  There are nearly 400 examples of Court Tombs recorded in Ireland.  These are found mainly in the northern half of the country.  The Court Tombs in Clare are some of the few examples found in the southern half of the Country.  Various activities associated with burial and perhaps with other ceremonies through the year would have been carried out in the court area.

The Court Tomb at Teergonean in Doolin has a few of the large uprights of the court area still standing beside the entrance to the burial chamber (the semi-circle of stones) and we were able to expose the remains of some stones from the other side of the court area, surviving at ground level .  The Doolin tomb has one very well defined burial chamber and a probable second chamber, with just one long side stone remaining.

Photo Diary
Teergonean Court Tomb .	West side of the Court Tomb  years ago
Court Tomb before work	Court Tomb before work