The Wedge Tombs of Ireland

Ireland is covered in hundreds of various sites and scenes dating back to the Bronze Age. The wedge tomb, one of the most recent of these Bronze Age monuments dating back to 2000 BCE, appears to be a large stone box made entirely out of stone slabs with an opening on one side. The top stone tends to slope down toward the back, with the remnants of a large pile of rocks, or a cairn, around it. Wedge tombs are commonly found near and around other types of monuments, such as portal and passage tombs. One of the largest concentrations of wedge tombs is in Parknabinna, Burren National Park, where nearly twenty wedge tombs have been found. Still more tombs can be found in County Kerry, where we walked the Kerry Way, and County Cork.

Inside of Coomakista Wedge Tomb

The cremated remains of Bronze Age people were laid to rest inside these monuments. These late Bronze age creations have offered ideas to, and shed light upon, the lives of the people of this age. Bones and tools, pottery and other ancient things have been found in these tombs.

Similar to artifacts found in bogs during the cutting of peat for fuel, wedge tombs are commonly found during land improvement. Because of this, it is rare and exciting for the tombs that are unearthed to be relatively unharmed in the act of discovery. While such things are rare, they do happen, and when they do, they can yield extraordinary results. For example, recently, a wedge tomb just like that was discovered. When discovered, the top slab was the only thing disturbed. The machine used for the land improvement flipped the top stone over, revealing the tomb underneath. Inside was found an intact human bone, a supreme find, and a smooth stone, smoothed seemingly by human hand. These things could possibly help in discovering even more about the Bronze age peoples.

These and more Bronze Age monuments such as the wedge tomb are amazingly old and well preserved, and continue to tell us more and more about the lives of Bronze Age peoples. Wandering amongst the remains of a people that preceded us, seeing their great creations, learning about how they lived their lives, gives us a link to the past. These are the joys and sights they left to us, and they are truly stunning.

Coomakista Wedge Tomb from the Kerry Way