Loughscur

Megalithic Tomb? - County Leitrim

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Marked on the OS map as a megalithic tomb, there is some dispute as to the status of the Loughscur remains. Variously interpreted as a portal tomb, or the remains of an aborted stone splitting operation, we even wondered if this could be a ruined wedge tomb, despite its lowland setting.
Whatever its true origins, Loughscur has a very picturesque location, standing in pasture land only 300m south of the bottom of Lough Scur with excellent views over the lough. 
Constructed of limestone throughout, the visible remains today are an enormous capstone which would have measured about 4.5x3m when intact, and two orthostats each about 1.2m high. The capstone has fractured into four main pieces, the two fragments at the south are each supported on their southern edge by one of the orthostats. We could see several large stones beneath the capstone fragments, whether these are fallen structural units, or smaller capstone fragments, we could not tell. About 7m to the north of the tomb, by a tree, are two large stones, one of these is erect and stands about a metre high. We could not see any evidence of cairn remains, but the immediate vicinity has obviously been disturbed in recent times, as a path now completely encircles the "tomb".
Loughscur is close by the side of the R209 and is easy to visit, there is a car park with steps leading down to the monument.