Research finds mysterious structure in Cork Harbour is prehistoric tomb

Archaeologists had thought the Carraig á Mhaistin stone was a 19th-century folly, but now believe it is a megalithic dolmen

Connemara-based archaeologist Michael Gibbons now says there is conclusive evidence the Carraig á Mhaistin stone structure at Rostellan on the eastern shore of Cork Harbour is a megalithic dolmen. Picture: Michael Gibbons 

New research looks set to answer a long-standing question about the status of a mysterious tomb-like structure uncovered in Cork Harbour many years ago.

Archaeologists have been split as to whether it was prehistoric or a more recent 19th-century “folly”.