Archaeology Field Trip #3: No. Cork, September 11, 2008

Unfortunately, the bad weather luck that we experienced in Dublin continued to haunt us on our third field trip to the Northern parts of County Cork and the Southern part of County Tipperary. While not as rainy as Dublin, our third trip was misty and plagued by a biting cold wind.

We began with Labbacallee Wedge Tomb, one of the biggest wedge tombs (a prehistoric type of tomb from c. 4000-3000 BC) in Ireland. “Labbacallee” is an Irish name that translates to “Bed of the Witch” and may reflect an oral tradition that survived from the prehistoric period (since the remains of an older woman were excavated from the tomb as well as the remains of two younger men). The largest capstone on this tomb is about 10 tons in size and the entire tomb is impressive for its size and complexity (a triple-walled tomb with three sloping capstones).

We moved from there to the Mitchelstown Caves. No archaeological significance here whatsoever. They’re just kinda cool.

We finished the day by visiting the Rock of Cashel, a complex of structures in Tipperary. While the Rock features a large Gothic cathedral and more recent buildings, the main reason for our visit was to see Cormac’s Chapel, the finest example of Romanesque architecture in Ireland. The chapel is impressive, even next to the larger and newer Gothic cathedral.

Despite the bad weather, the Mitchelstown Caves were a fun tourist-y break from our class routine and the Labbacallee tomb was impressive. Cashel was beautiful and fun to wander around. Unlike Dublin, we didn’t get drenched and we did not have to deal with surly national monument employees.