Megalithic sites in Ireland

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Types of Irish monuments

Megalithic systems in Ireland ( Irish Tuamaí Meigiliteacha in Éirinn ) are large stone graves from the Neolithic . In Ireland there are around 1,600 megalithic tombs dating from between 4000 and 2000 BC. Come from BC. About 10 percent of all systems were examined, most of which were passage tombs .

Classification

The Neolithic megalithic complexes on the Irish island consist of four main types, in addition to a number that could not be assigned to any type due to their shape or extensive destruction:

In addition, at the transition to the Bronze Age , from around 2500 BC BC, also different stone boxes . The eleven previously discovered Linkardstown types are usually not counted among the megalithic sites.

The numbers were obtained from the websites of the Irish National Monument Service and the Northern Ireland Sites & Monument Record .

distribution

Court Tomb Passage tomb Portal tomb Wedge Tomb
Leinster 11 83 24 19th
Muenster 7th 9 21st 337
Connacht 197 90 44 125
Ulster 185 37 96 88

The northern half of the island has significantly more systems than the southern half.

  • The four counties of Kildare , Laois , Offaly and Westmeath are practically empty .
  • Court Tombs are located in the northern half of the island with high concentrations in western Connemara and on the north coast of County Mayo .
  • Passage Tombs are primarily located in the northern half of the island, where they form large, so-called cemeteries in several places in the southern edge zone.
  • Portal tombs are mainly located in the north and south-east halves of the island without forming concentrations.
  • Wedge Tombs are primarily located in the western half of the island with concentrations in Counties Clare and Cork .

Marginalized groups

A small group, primarily in Connemara , which are also known as "simple chambered tombs", is considered to be very old, although it has not been examined in more detail and cannot be assigned to any classical type . (→  Megaliths in Connemara ) Listoghil and Primrosegrange in County Sligo are also of this type . Some systems, especially in Northern Ireland , are mixed types between court and portal tombs or court and wedge tombs.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Carleton Jones, Temples of Stone. Exploring the megalithic tombs of Ireland. Collins Press, Doughcloyne 2007, p. 10
  2. ↑ http://webgis.archaeology.ie/historicenvironment/
  3. ↑ https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/NISMR-PUBLIC/Default.aspx