| Two Rock Mountain (Binn Dá Charraig) | |
|---|---|
| Black Mountain;[1] Sliab Lecga[2] | |
 Two Rock Mountain from the south | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 536 m (1,759 ft)[3] |
| Prominence | 171 m (561 ft)[2] |
| Listing | Marilyn (hill)[4] |
| Coordinates | 53°14′10″N6°14′30″W / 53.236194°N 6.241557°W /53.236194; -6.241557[3] |
| Geography | |
  Two Rock Mountain Location in Greater Dublin Show map of Dublin Two Rock Mountain Two Rock Mountain (island of Ireland) Show map of island of Ireland | |
| Location | Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown,Ireland |
| Parent range | Dublin Mountains |
| OSI/OSNI grid | O1721922374 |
| Topo map | OSi Discovery Series No. 50 |
Two Rock (Irish:Binn Dá Charraig;[5]archaic: Black Mountain;[1]Sliab Lecga (meaningMountain of Flagstones)[2]) is a mountain inDún Laoghaire–Rathdown,Ireland. It is 536 metres (1,759 feet) high[3] and is the 382nd highest mountain in Ireland.[2] It is the highest point of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock,Three Rock,Kilmashogue andTibradden Mountains.[6] The mountain takes its name from the twogranitetors that lie to the south-east of the summit.[7] From the summit, which is called Fairy Castle,[3] there are views of much of the Dublin area fromTallaght toHowth to the north whileBray Head,Killiney Hill, theGreat Sugar Loaf and theWicklow Mountains are visible to the south.[8] The summit area is mostly shallowbog whileferns andgorse cover the lower slopes.[9] The mountain is also an important habitat forred grouse.[10]
A number of prehistoric monuments can be found on the mountain including apassage tomb on the summit and awedge tomb on the slopes near Ballyedmonduff.[citation needed]
Fairy Castle, as the summit is known, is marked by a stone cairn and anOrdnance Surveytrig pillar.[11] These both sit on top of a circular structure ofgranite andquartz blocks 25 metres (82 feet) across and 2 metres (6.6 feet) high and covered by turf and vegetation.[12] This is the remains of apassage tomb, the easternmost of a series of such tombs that stretches across the Dublin and West Wicklow Mountains.[8] 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.[11] There is no evidence that the tomb has ever been opened but archaeologists believe that the interior contains a small burial chamber.[13][14]
In an area of forest to the southeast of the summit, near Ballyedmonduff, at grid reference O 185 213, there is aBronze Agewedge tomb, known as the "Giant's Grave".[15] It is considered one of the finest examples of a wedge tomb in Ireland:[16] theantiquarianJohn O'Donovan said of it, "I doubt I have met so perfect a pagan grave in any other counties hitherto examined".[17] Its appearance has changed since the time of its first discovery: sketches made in the 1830s by the Ordnance Survey show a grass-coveredtumulus.[18] A drawing byGeorge Du Noyer indicates that the roof was partially intact at that time.[19] In addition, the pine forest that now surrounds the site obscures the views of theGreat Sugar Loaf mountain and the twin tors of Two Rock that would have been possible from this location in the past.[16][20] The tomb was first opened in 1832 by Alderman Blacker of St Andrew Street, Dublin but no record of this excavation survives.[21] 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.[17] After the tomb was opened, many of the larger stones were removed by localstonecutters.[21] The site was excavated again in 1945 by Seán P. Ó Riordáin and Rúaidhri de Valera who foundsherds of decoratedBeaker pottery, a polished hammer, a possible polishing stone and a flint scraper.[20][22] A small amount of cremated human bone was also found.[23] Following the excavation the monument was rebuilt in the form it appears in today.[18] The tomb consists of a burial gallery over 6 metres (20 feet) long divided into three chambers surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped arrangement of stones with a straight façade at the western end.[23] At the southern end is a long stone with seven cupmarks on one surface.[22] This form ofrock art is usually associated with earlierNeolithic culture and is generally found on natural rock outcrops.[22] The stone may have come from a natural boulder brought to the site during construction.[22]
There was once another megalithic tomb – known as The Greyhound's Bed[24] – on the southern slopes of Two Rock near theR116 road between the villages ofGlencullen and Brockey.[25] This was described in 1836 by the antiquarianEugene O'Curry as a long stone 10 feet (3.0 metres) long by 7 feet (2.1 metres) wide.[26] A sketch was made by theRoyal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland in 1855 before the monument was destroyed.[25]
There is also a triangular-shapedstanding stone, 1 metre (3.3 feet) high approximately 400 metres (1,300 feet), north-northeast of Fairy Castle on the slope leading to Three Rock.[27]
Two Rock can be reached via theCoillte-owned forest recreation areas ofTicknock,[28] Kilmashogue[29] and Tibradden,[30] which are managed by the Dublin Mountains Partnership. The mountain is traversed by theDublin Mountains Way hiking trail that runs betweenShankill andTallaght while theWicklow Way hiking trail runs to the west of the summit.[3]
