Giant's ring

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System with five bearing stones and a capstone in the Giant's Ring

The Giant's Ring by Ballynahatty is a henge monument , an almost circular enclosure over 180 m in diameter. The wall, interrupted by five passages, is about 3.6 m high and in places over 18.0 m wide. It is one of the largest and best preserved henges in Ireland . It is located south of Belfast , in County Down in Northern Ireland , near Shaw's Bridge, near a ford through the Lagan, on an approximately 100 hectare sandy plateau.

To the east of the center of the ring is a megalithic complex , consisting of five bearing stones and one capstone (of originally two). Probably the remains of a simple passage tomb . Less than 100 m away, north of the Henges, runs from west to east a low, five-meter-wide wall. At its west end there is a large boulder as the only feature.

Already shortly after 3000 BC The wood structures called Ballynahatty 5 and 6 emerged in the 4th century BC. They were replaced or supplemented by the large earth wall that was now built around the existing stone grave. While the ring dominates the southeast corner of the plateau, Ballynahatty 5 and 6 lie on the edge of a ridge from which one can overlook the ring. They consist of a rectangular 100 m × 70 m large and a round enclosure 16 m in diameter, each with a double palisade. The structure of the complex is reminiscent of Fort Navan .

The dating (probably 4th millennium BC), but also the function of the monument is difficult. Maybe it was a ceremonial or gathering place.

About six kilometers south is the original location of the Court Tomb of Ballintaggart in County Armagh, which has been moved to Belfast .

literature

  • Sinéad McCartan: Prehistory. In: Thomas McErlean, Rosemary McConkey, Wes Forsythe: Strangford Lough. An archaeological survey of the maritime cultural landscape (= Northern Ireland Archaeological Monographs. 6). Blackstaff Press et al., Belfast 2002, ISBN 0-85640-723-2 , pp. 41-57.

Web links

Commons : Giant's Ring, Belfast  - Collection of images

Coordinates: 54 ° 32 ′ 25 ″  N , 5 ° 57 ′ 0 ″  W.