Carraig á Mhaistin stone
Also known asRostellan Cromlech · Rostellan dolmen · Rostellan Portal Tomb
DatedEst. 3900–3000 BCE
Photo Hywel Williams · CC BY-SA 2.0Source file on Wikimedia Commons
Overview
About this site
Overview
The Carraig á Mhaistin stone (Irish name rendered as Bully Rock) is a megalithic tomb located in Cork harbour, County Cork, Ireland. It is also known as Rostellan Cromlech, Rostellan dolmen and Rostellan Portal Tomb, and is classed as a portal tomb.
It was previously believed to have been an 18th-century folly, built by Murrough O'Brien, 1st Marquess of Thomond, like the nearby Siddons Tower folly.
Read on Wikipedia2 min readCC BY-SA 4.0
Where it sits in time
The site's dated range, placed against world reference points.
The scale is logarithmic: each step to the left is about ten times older than the last.
Article
Carraig á Mhaistin stone
DescriptionSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Carraig á Mhaistin stoneCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Carraig á Mhaistin stoneCC BY-SA 4.0
The tomb is made of three upright stones, largely covered in seaweed, and a capstone. It faces east. The tomb is nearly submerged at the high tide mark, as is the accompanying cairn.
The monument was first reported by the antiquarian John Windele after an 1860 visit to the area.
Research historySources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Carraig á Mhaistin stoneCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Carraig á Mhaistin stoneCC BY-SA 4.0
The monument was first reported by the antiquarian John Windele after an 1860 visit to the area. A man named Dr. Wise had the capstone raised from where it had fallen.
ContextSources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Carraig á Mhaistin stoneCC BY-SA 4.0
Sources for this section
- Wikipedia (English): Carraig á Mhaistin stoneCC BY-SA 4.0
A portal tomb, or portal dolmen, is the Irish and British version of the dolmen: a single-chamber megalithic tomb with two or more upright stones framing a 'portal' at the front and a large capstone. In the Irish classification of megalithic tombs set out by Seán Ó Nualláin and Rúaidhrí de Valera in 1961, portal dolmens are one of four categories, alongside court cairns, wedge-shaped gallery graves and passage tombs. Most portal tombs date from the Neolithic, between 4000 and 3000 BCE, and some were covered by a mound of earth or smaller stones which has since eroded away, leaving the stone skeleton.
Tradition and region
About this kind of monument
Portal tombs
A portal tomb, or portal dolmen, is the Irish and British version of the dolmen: a single-chamber megalithic tomb with two or more upright stones framing a "portal" at the front and a large capstone. In the Irish classification of megalithic tombs set out by Seán Ó Nualláin and Rúaidhrí de Valera in 1961, portal dolmens are one of four categories, alongside court cairns, wedge-shaped gallery graves and passage tombs.
Most portal tombs date from the Neolithic, between 4000 and 3000 BCE, and some were covered by a mound of earth or smaller stones which has since eroded away, leaving the stone skeleton. Ireland has about 172 dolmens, of which the best known is Poulnabrone in the Burren, with estimates between 3800 and 3200 BCE. Excavation under Poulnabrone found the remains of about 33 people, adults and children, along with stone and bone objects.
In Wales and Cornwall the form is the cromlech or quoit. Pentre Ifan in Pembrokeshire is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic dolmen in Wales. The names of Irish portal tombs often reflect old tradition: Brownshill, near Carlow, has a capstone reputed to be the heaviest in Europe, estimated at 150 tonnes, and Proleek in County Louth is the subject of a legend of a Scottish giant who carried it there.
Dating rests on the few excavated tombs, and most are dated by comparison.
When visiting, look for the capstone and for the portal stones at the front.
Paraphrased from Wikipedia: Portal dolmen, Wikipedia: Dolmen, Wikipedia: Passage grave, Wikipedia: Poulnabrone dolmen, Wikipedia: Pentre Ifan, Wikipedia: Brownshill Dolmen, Wikipedia: Proleek Dolmen · CC BY-SA 4.0
From the article
Dated moments in the story
- 1860
The monument was first reported by antiquarian John Windele after an 1860 visit to the area.
Source
See it in 3D
An interpretive reconstruction of the monument, standing on the real ground at its exact point, under the sun for that place and season. Drag to look around it.
The reconstruction is ours, not a survey: it shows what a monument of this type looks like, at the size the record gives for this one.
Photographs
1 photograph, each with its author and licence
Lore
Evidence & Lore
What the sources actually support — and, kept apart, what has been claimed.
What the evidence supports
Dates
Est. 3900–3000 BCEHow this date was established: Type comparisonTypological estimate, not a date for this site: a portal tomb in the British Isles is normally dated between 3900 BCE and 3000 BCE (Atlas typological table).Source for this date
Measured facts
- Mainstream position
- The Carraig á Mhaistin stone is regarded as a megalithic tomb rather than an 18th-century folly.Source: Mainstream position
- Location
- Cork harbourSource: Location
- Alternative name
- Bully RockSource: Alternative name
- First reported by
- antiquarian John WindeleSource: First reported by
- Report date
- 1860 visitSource: Report date
- Capstone action
- raised by Dr. WiseSource: Capstone action
Alternative claims
Alternative claims about this site, kept in their own block and labelled with where they stand.
The monument was built by Murrough O'Brien, 1st Marquess of Thomond, as an 18th-century folly like Siddons Tower.
Where it stands
Ireland
The pin marks the monument itself — its exact point.
- Coordinates
- 51°51′26″ N, 8°10′58″ WFor a GPS or map app: 51.85722, -8.18275
Access is as our sources describe it; we have not visited the site to check.
Nearby
The closest sites in the Atlas, by straight line.
- Megalithic complexMegalithanlage von Castlemary
Wedge Tomb von Ryefield East2500–2000 BCE- Wedge tombwedge tomb of Island2500–2000 BCE
- Wedge tombIsland Wedge Tomb2500–2000 BCE
Labbacallee wedge tomb2350–2250 BCE
Castlenalacht Stone Row4500–1200 BCE- Megalithic complexBeenalaght
- Court tomb (court cairn)Ballynamona Lower3750–2900 BCE
.jpg){kind=link}
Sources
Every record behind this page, with the link it came from.
2 sources behind this page
- 01Wikidata Q19787768wikidata.org
- 02Wikipedia (en)en.wikipedia.org
Image files
Report a correctionWrong date, name, photograph or source? Tell us and it will be put right.
Lore, kept apart
Legends and claims
These are stories and claims reported by the sources. They are not evidence, and they never stand in for the dating above.
- Tested: not supported
The monument was built by Murrough O'Brien, 1st Marquess of Thomond, as an 18th-century folly like Siddons Tower.
Source
Around this place
The ten nearest sites, by compass
Credit
Text, licence and sources
Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Carraig á Mhaistin stone" (English), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; authors are listed in the page history. Reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikipedia · Edit history and authors