Seefin Passage Tomb (Irish:Tuama Pasáiste Shuí Finn) is an empty passage grave and National Monument located atop Seefin hill, County Wicklow, Ireland.[2]
Seefin Passage Tomb | |
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Native name Tuama Pasáiste Shuí Finn (Irish) | |
Type | Passage grave |
Location | Scurlocksleap, Blessington, County Wicklow, Ireland |
Coordinates | 53°11′11″N 6°23′41″W / 53.186267°N 6.394809°W |
Area | Wicklow Mountains |
Elevation | 621 m (2,037 ft) |
Height | 3 m (9.8 ft) |
Built | c. 3300 BC |
Official name | Seefin |
Reference no. | 317[1] |
Location
editSeefin Passage Tomb is located atop Seefin in the Wicklow Mountains, just south of Kilbride Army Camp. Nearby Seefingan and Seahan mountains also have cairns atop them.[3]
History
editThe tomb was built circa 3300 BC, during Ireland's Neolithic. It was excavated by R. A. Stewart Macalister in 1931, but no artefacts or human remains were found, suggesting that no-one was ever buried there, or that the remains were later removed.[4]
Description
editThe tomb is a stone cairn, 24 m (79 ft) in diameter and 3 m (9.8 ft) high. There are large kerb stones around the base of the tomb and the tomb has a passageway 7 m (23 ft) long, which opens into a chamber with five compartments. There are some carved decorations in lozenge shape, carved lines and quartz.[4][5]
Gallery
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Carved cross inside Seefin tomb
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Entrance doorway
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View from chamber looking outward
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View from above
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The tomb is visible from afar on the summit, as is its sister cairn on Seefingan
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Hillwalkers approaching the tomb, midwinter 1998
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The tomb on a clear day
References
editMedia related to Seefin Passage Tomb at Wikimedia Commons
- ^ "National Monuments of County Wicklow in State Care" (PDF). heritageireland.ie. National Monument Service. p. 3. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ "Time Travel Ireland: Seefin Passage Tomb, County Wicklow".
- ^ Jackman, Neil (20 July 2013). "Hidden Ireland: The mystery of the 5,000-year-old empty tomb on top of a Wicklow mountain". The Journal. Ireland. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Seefin Passage Tomb, Sunday 21st April 2013".
- ^ "County Wicklow - selected monuments".