Meehambee Dolmen

Location	near Drum and Athlone
Region	County Roscommon, Ireland
Coordinates	53°24′43″N 8°1′11″W / 53.41194°N 8.01972°W / 53.41194; -8.01972
Type	Dolmen

The Meehambee Dolmen is a megalithic portal tomb dating from about 3500 BC located in County Roscommon, Ireland.

Two local schoolchildren unearthed two stone axes in the 1960s.^[1]

Originally supported on 6 upright portals, 2.3 metres high, the capstone is estimated to weigh twenty-four tonnes. The portal stone supporting the back of the capstone has collapsed, allowing the capstone to slide backwards out of position, causing the doorstone to collapse also. The capstone now rests at a 45-degree angle.^[1]

It is thought that these tombs, of which over 1,200 have been identified in Ireland, were either the burial place of a single important king or chieftain or perhaps the tombs of several members of a tribe who inhabited the area in the Neolithic era.

It was known locally as Leabaidh Éirn in the 1930s.^[2]

Location

It is located in County Roscommon, a few hundred metres from the M6. It is accessed by a bridle path off a local road from the R362 regional road in the village of Bellanamullia on the western outskirts of Athlone.

Gallery

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  Meehambee Dolmen
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  Meehambee Dolmen
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  Meehambee Dolmen
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  Camouflaged in moss, hardly visible on the bridle path
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  Information panel at site entrance

See also

• Dolmen
• Megalithic art
• European Megalithic Culture
• Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites
• Megalith
• Neolithic Europe
• Stone circle

References

• "Meehambee Dolmen". Megalithic Portal.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dolmen.

Look up dolmen in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.