Cohaw Court Tomb

Map Reference: H644125 (2644, 3125)



This is a very fine example of a dual court tomb. It was excavated in 1949 when a Neolithic pottery vessel was found. It is a massive structure aligned approximately N-S. The southern grave has a court which is fairly intact on the W side but only fragmentary on the E.



There are two chambers in the gallery each about 2m long and more than 1m wide. The northern grave also has a two-chambered gallery with the outer chamber being larger than the rest. The N court is very complete especially on the W side. Between the galleries is a central chamber which does not appear to belong to either grave and may be a separate structure with an entrance on the W side.



The E side has five orthostats and the W side has two with a large gap between them. The other two sides share stones with the galleries. The stones in the monument are generally large being up to 1.3m high. A number of small stones throughout the structure are set in concrete and some wooden posts presumably mark the positions of missing orthostats.



A large stone lies a few metres to the east of centre and may be a displaced capstone. The whole structure sits in a large cairn about 25m long by 12m wide.