Farranmacbride

The Court Tomb of Farranmacbride ( Irish Fearann ​​Mhic Giolla Bhríde , German  "Mac Gilbrides Land" ), also called Mannernamortee ( Mainnear na Mortaigh - German  "the enclosure of the dead" ), is located in the northern part of Glencolumbkille in the west of County Donegal in Ireland .

The Farranmacbride complex is around 60 m long and is one of the longest Court Tombs in Ireland, but the megalithic complex is severely disturbed. Court Tombs are among the megalithic chamber tombs ( English chambered tombs ) of the British Isles . With around 400 specimens, they are found almost exclusively in Ulster in the north of Ireland or in Northern Ireland . Nearby is a stone covered with symbols, which represents the ninth station of the Turas , an annual pilgrimage in the area.

Different court tomb shapes

Court Tomb

It has a centrally located 20.5 m long and 10 m wide oval courtyard (the largest of a court tomb) through which a modern dirt road runs. Two galleries, each with four chambers, are accessible from the courtyard on the opposite side of the axis. Most of the falls over the entrances to the chambers also on the side of the hill have been lost, fallen or broken.

Gathering Stone

The “stone of the assembly”, a pierced cross pillar, forms the 9th station of the traditional tura.

The “Stone of the Assembly” (Irish Cloch an Aonaigh ) is the 9th station of the Turas , a pilgrimage that takes place on June 9th of each year on a circular route with 15 stations. The stations are partly located on burial mounds and court tombs or lead to the cross slabs (also known as cross pillars) covered with symbols . Near the Farranmacbride Court tomb is the Assembly Stone, with a hole drilled through the top. It is circled clockwise ( deiseal ) three times by the believers in order to renounce the world, the flesh and the devil. Lovers who stick a finger through the hole become engaged when their fingers touch. According to old Irish custom, this resulted in a marriage for a year and a day.

Nearby is the Court Tomb Cloghanmore .

See also

• Megalithic sites in Ireland

literature

• Peter Harbison : Pre-christian Ireland - From the first Settlers to the early Celts . London 1988, p. 68 ISBN 0-500-27809-1

Individual evidence

1. ^ Peter Harbison: Pilgrimage in Ireland: The Monuments and the People. Syracuse University Press, 1995, p. 108 ISBN 0-815-60312-6

Web links

• Farranmacbride images and text (last accessed December 10, 2012)
• Farranmacbride Court Tomb Description and Pictures (last accessed December 10, 2012)

Coordinates: 54 ° 42 ′ 50 ″  N , 8 ° 43 ′ 7 ″  W.