Lochstein (archeology)

Woodborough perforated stone

As Lochenstein ( English holed stone ; regional and Quoit ) one calls in Archeology

• a perforated plate-like menhir ,
• Upright stones with an artificial hole that occur mainly in Austria and that have served as boundary stones since the Middle Ages.

Demarcation

The entrance stone of a megalithic complex with a soul hole ( French Pierre Trouée or Pierre percée ) is not called perforated stone . These can be found at gallery graves , at Dolmen of the Schwörstadt type , in Germany, France , Sweden , Switzerland and on the British Isles .

British Islands

Mên-an-Tol in Cornwall

Perforated stone used as a goal post, near the Merry Maidens in Cornwall

• In the Republic of Ireland , the Hurlstone can be found in County Louth . There is a small perforated stone near Kilmalkedar in County Kerry . The hole stone Caherurlagh in County Cork is 2.25 m long. The Cloch a 'Phoill or "Aghade Holed Stone" is near Tullow in County Carlow and one of the "Marriage Stones" is on Cape Clear Island in Cork. The stone from Lackendarragh southwest of Mallow has in County Cork, like some other stones, a naturally formed small hole. Most of the holes are round. The perforated stone of Derrydarragh in County Sligo is a stone with an almost square opening . The hole in the Lochstein at Kilmainhamwood , County Meath, is rectangular.

• In Northern Ireland , Doagh's Lochstein is in County Antrim .
• In Cornwall you can find the Tolvan Holed Stone at Gweek, the Kenidjack perforated stones at St Just and the Merry Maidens Holed Stone at Lamorna. The most famous perforated stone on the island is the middle stone of the megalithic complex Mên-an-Tol .
• A perforated stone and another menhir in Staffordshire in the West Midlands in England are known as the Devil's Ring and Finger .
• The Crow Stone is in Kirkcowan, west of Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway .
• On the Orkney island of North Ronaldsay stands the not quite stylish perforated Stan Stane .

Alpine region

In the foothills of the Alps, the entry stones that have been left standing in a gallery grave are often referred to as perforated stones. This piercing is also called the soul hole . The expression is based on the idea that the builders of the tombs made the hole in the front panel to enable the souls of the buried to travel to the afterlife.

The Dolmen of the Schwörstadt type in the Swiss Jura have perforated stones such as B. the Pierre-Percée in Courgenay , the dolmen of Laufen and the dolmen of Aesch . Another is on the Älbachegg in the canton of Lucerne . Examples from Germany are the dolmen of Degernau and the Heidenstein in Niederschwörstadt .

The perforated stones in Austria are not Neolithic, but rather medieval and served as district boundary stones, later also as fence or gate stones.

Mediterranean area

• Dolmen de Viera near Antequera

Caucasus

• In Armenia , too , there are frequent perforated stones, such as in the Zorakarer burial ground on the southern edge of the Caucasus .

Hercynian room

• The soul hole of Großenrode in the Harz foreland
• Entry stone of the gallery grave of Züschen .
• the menhir menhir Pierre Percée by Draché with a natural hole

literature

• Kenneth McNally: Standing Stones and other Monuments of early Ireland . Appletree Press, Belfast 1984, ISBN 0-86281-121-X .
• Homer Sykes: Mysterious Britain . Weidenfeld and Nicholson, London 1993, ISBN 0-297-83196-8 .
• M. Ad. Thieullen: Les pierres percées In: Bulletins de la Société d'anthropologie de Paris Vol. 10/1, 1899, pp. 92-96.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Josef Weichenberger: Critical comments on the research results of Heinrich Kusch ". In: Zeitschrift des Historisches Verein für die Steiermark 103, 2012, pp. 239–265
2. ^ Egon Fischerlehner: perforated stones (gate stones) in Upper Austria. In: Mannus 46, 1980, pp. 95 ff.
3. ↑ http://www.hgstump.de/grossenrode.htm picture

Web links

• the Marriage Stones