Two Rock (;
archaic: Black Mountain;
' ()
) is a mountain in
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown ( ga, Dún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three s ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It is high
and is the 382nd highest mountain in Ireland.
It is the highest point of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock,
Three Rock
Three Rock Mountain (; archaic: ''Sliabh Ruadh'') is a mountain in Co Dublin, Ireland. It is high and forms part of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The mo ...
,
Kilmashogue
Kilmashogue or Kilmashoge () is a mountain in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown county in Ireland. It is high and forms part of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The f ...
and
Tibradden
Tibradden Mountain () is a mountain in County Dublin in Ireland. Other former names for the mountain include "Garrycastle" and "Kilmainham Begg" (a reference to Kilmainham Priory which once owned the lands around the mountain). It is high and i ...
Mountains. The mountain takes its name from the two
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
tors that lie to the south-east of the summit. From the summit, which is called Fairy Castle,
there are views of much of the Dublin area from
Tallaght
)
, image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg
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to
Howth
Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes ...
to the north while
Bray Head
Bray Head ( ga, Ceann Bhré) is a hill and headland located in northern County Wicklow, Ireland, between the towns of Bray and Greystones. It forms part of the Wicklow Mountains and is a popular spot with hillwalkers. At the top of the head i ...
,
Killiney Hill
Killiney Hill ( ga, Cnoc Chill Iníon Léinín) is the southernmost of the two hills which form the southern boundary of Dublin Bay, the other being Dalkey Hill. These two hills form part of Killiney Hill Park.
Crowned by a monument, Killiney Hi ...
, the
Great Sugar Loaf
Great Sugar Loaf () at , is the 404th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, however, being below 600 m it does not rank on the Vandeleur-Lynam or Hewitt scales.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits ...
and the
Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Wh ...
are visible to the south.
[Corlett, p. 19.] The summit area is mostly shallow
bog while
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
s and
gorse
''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...
cover the lower slopes. The mountain is also an important habitat for
red grouse.
A number of prehistoric monuments can be found on the mountain including a
passage tomb
A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Wester ...
on the summit and a
wedge tomb
A gallery grave is a form of megalithic tomb built primarily during the Neolithic Age in Europe in which the main gallery of the tomb is entered without first passing through an antechamber or hallway. There are at least four major types of ga ...
on the slopes near Ballyedmonduff.
Points of interest
Fairy Castle
Fairy Castle, as the summit is known, is marked by a stone cairn and an
Ordnance Survey
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trig pillar.
[Fourwinds, p. 155.] These both sit on top of a circular structure of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
and
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
blocks across and high and covered by turf and vegetation.
[Corlett, p. 109.] This is the remains of a
passage tomb
A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Wester ...
, the easternmost of a series of such tombs that stretches across the Dublin and West Wicklow Mountains.
The entrance to the tomb – once described by locals as a "cave" – can no longer be seen due to the collapse of the edges of the cairn.
There is no evidence that the tomb has ever been opened but archaeologists believe that the interior contains a small burial chamber.
Ballyedmonduff wedge tomb
In an area of forest to the southeast of the summit, near Ballyedmonduff, at grid reference O 185 213, there is a
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
wedge tomb
A gallery grave is a form of megalithic tomb built primarily during the Neolithic Age in Europe in which the main gallery of the tomb is entered without first passing through an antechamber or hallway. There are at least four major types of ga ...
, known as the "Giant's Grave".
[Fourwinds, p. 81.] It is considered one of the finest examples of a wedge tomb in Ireland:
[Corlett, p. 102.] the
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
John O'Donovan said of it, "I doubt I have met so perfect a pagan grave in any other counties hitherto examined".
[Herity, p. 3.] Its appearance has changed since the time of its first discovery: sketches made in the 1830s by the Ordnance Survey show a grass-covered
tumulus
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...
.
[Fourwinds, p. 16.] A drawing by
George Du Noyer indicates that the roof was partially intact at that time. In addition, the pine forest that now surrounds the site obscures the views of the
Great Sugar Loaf
Great Sugar Loaf () at , is the 404th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, however, being below 600 m it does not rank on the Vandeleur-Lynam or Hewitt scales.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits ...
mountain and the twin tors of Two Rock that would have been possible from this location in the past.
[Fourwinds, p. 21.] The tomb was first opened in 1832 by Alderman Blacker of St Andrew Street, Dublin but no record of this excavation survives.
[Healy, p. 114.] However, when John O'Donovan visited on behalf of the Ordnance Survey, the locals told him that ashes had been found when the grave was opened.
After the tomb was opened, many of the larger stones were removed by local
stonecutters.
The site was excavated again in 1945 by Seán P. Ó Riordáin and Rúaidhri de Valera who found
sherd
In archaeology, a sherd, or more precisely, potsherd, is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels, as well.
Occasionally, a piece of broken p ...
s of decorated
Beaker pottery, a polished hammer, a possible polishing stone and a flint scraper.
[Corlett, p. 26.] A small amount of cremated human bone was also found.
[Corlett, p. 103.] Following the excavation the monument was rebuilt in the form it appears in today.
The tomb consists of a burial gallery over long divided into three chambers surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped arrangement of stones with a straight façade at the western end.
At the southern end is a long stone with seven cupmarks on one surface.
This form of
rock art
In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...
is usually associated with earlier
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
culture and is generally found on natural rock outcrops.
The stone may have come from a natural boulder brought to the site during construction.
Other points of interest
There was once another megalithic tomb – known as The Greyhound's Bed
[Herity, p. 25] – on the southern slopes of Two Rock near the
R116 road
The R116 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs east-west from the N11 at Loughlinstown to the R115 in Ballyboden. It runs through the South of County Dublin for its entire length.
Route
The official definition of the R116 from the ...
between the villages of
Glencullen
Glencullen () is a village and townland in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in south County Dublin, Ireland. It is also the name of the valley above one end of which the village sits, and from which it takes its name, and is on the R ...
and Brockey.
[Healy, p. 98.] This was described in 1836 by the antiquarian
Eugene O'Curry
Eugene O'Curry ( ga, Eoghan Ó Comhraí or Eoghan Ó Comhraidhe, 20 November 179430 July 1862) was an Irish philologist and antiquary.
Life
He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and hi ...
as a long stone long by wide.
[Pearson, p. 312.] A sketch was made by the
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is a learned society based in Ireland, whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquit ...
in 1855 before the monument was destroyed.
There is also a triangular-shaped
standing stone
A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright rock (geology), stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. T ...
, high approximately , north-northeast of Fairy Castle on the slope leading to Three Rock.
Access and recreation
Two Rock can be reached via the
Coillte
Coillte (; meaning "forests"/"woods") is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, a ...
-owned forest recreation areas of
Ticknock
Ticknock or Tiknock () is a townland southwest of Sandyford in Dublin at the northeastern foothills of the Dublin Mountains. The townland of Tiknock is in the electoral division of Dundrum, and has an area of approximately .
There are a number o ...
, Kilmashogue and Tibradden,
which are managed by the Dublin Mountains Partnership. The mountain is traversed by the
Dublin Mountains Way hiking trail that runs between
Shankill and
Tallaght
)
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while the
Wicklow Way hiking trail runs to the west of the summit.
Images
References
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
Two Rock Mountaina
Dublin Mountains PartnershipTwo Rock Mountaina
Mountain Viewsa
Megalithomaniaa
Megalithomaniaa
{{Mountains and hills of Leinster
Marilyns of Ireland
Archaeological sites in County Dublin
Mountains and hills of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown