Rows of stones in Ireland
The rows of stones in Ireland (with the exception of Drumgole ) consist of menhirs of medium size, often arranged in a straight line . Stone rows ( English Alignments or Stone Rows ) are not very common in Ireland and complex shapes are rare and occur primarily in two regions.
- In Northern Ireland in Counties Fermanagh , Counties Londonderry and Counties Tyrone and in Ireland County Donegal (the "Northern Group")
- In the Republic of Ireland in Counties of Cork and Kerry (the "Southern Group").
Both groups are usually associated with stone circles ( stone circles in Ulster and stone circles of the Cork-Kerry series ). The rows in the north are up to 150.0 m long and consist of comparatively low stones, while those in the south are much shorter, but the stones are significantly higher. The stone rows Shantemon and the Lissanover both in County Cavan and Finn Mc Cool's Fingers in County Galway are outside the northern group.
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The southern group
The more than 50 rows of stones in Counties Cork and Kerry are often part of a larger monument complex ( stone circles , boulder burials , etc.). They consist of three to six menhirs. Short rows are only a few feet long, while the longest are around 13.0 m. The stone heights are usually unequal within each row. Often times a gradation will be seen from one end to the other, but this is not a constant. The individual stones are in the range from less than one meter to about four meters in height. Examples are Beenalaght and Castlenalact in County Cork. Occasionally rows of stones border on stone circles. At Cabragh the row of four massive stones stands near a small stone circle. A similar combination is Cashelkeelty in County Kerry. The rows are oriented approximately northeast-southwest and show a similar orientation as the neighboring Wedge Tombs .
Stone pairs
The stone pairs show the same orientation pattern and can be disturbed (shortened) rows. Examples are Coolcoulaghta near Durrus and Keilnascarta near Bantry . Like rows of stones, pairs are also found next to stone circles or boulder burials (e.g., Kealkil and Knockanereagh in County Cork). Stone pairs are known from different parts of the country. They may have had a special cult meaning, but in some cases they are e.g. B. Part of a demolished enclosure. One such example is Kilfinnane, County Limerick , where they mark the entrance to a ruined ring fort. Similarly, a pair of stones mark the entrance to a cillin at Oughtihery, in County Cork.
Dating
The row of stones discovered in 2004 on Cut Hill in north Dartmoor in Devon , England, is the first to be dated. The peat under stone 1 was calibrated to 3700-3540 BC using the radiocarbon method. The peat above it is calibrated to 2476–2245 BC. Chr.
literature
- Aubrey Burl: From Carnac to Callanish. The Prehistoric Stone Rows and Avenues of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany. Yale University Press, New Haven CT et al. 1993, ISBN 0-300-05575-7 .
- Seán Ó. Nualláin: Stone Rows in the South of Ireland In: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archeology, Culture, History, Literature
88C: 179-256 (1988)
- Seán P. Ó. Ríordáin: Antiquities of the Irish countryside. 5th edition, revised. Methuen, London et al. 1979, ISBN 0-416-85630-6 , p. 147 ff.
- Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ralph M. Fyfe, Tom Greeves: The Date and Context of a Stone Row: Cut Hill, Dartmoor, South-West England. In: Antiquity. Vol. 84, No. 323, 2010, ISSN 0003-598X , pp. 55-70, doi : 10.1017 / S0003598X00099762 .