Timoney Stones

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Photo-request.svg
 Image wanted 
BW

The Timoney Stones ( Irish Clocha Tuaim Eabhna ) are groups of menhir that in a unique way do not follow any recognizable pattern. They are near Templemore , eight kilometers southeast of Roscrea in the Timoney Hills in County Tipperary in Ireland . There are still more than 120, from once more than 200  menhirs , which are scattered in a ten kilometers long, 40 hectare area that begins southeast of Roscrea and ends southwest of Borris-in-Ossory in County Laois . Their distribution extends to the vicinity of the Cullaun Stones at Templemore, with which they may have formed a complex.

description

These megaliths form a mystery and are listed separately in Tipperary's archaeological collection. The stones have sizes between 0.3 and 2.0 m.

context

Menhirs are usually found in isolation or in groups. Individual stones indicate burials, borders or ritual places. Found in groups, rows, circles or in pairs, they served similar functions. The Timoney Stones do not follow any of these patterns, which is why they are the subject of discussion and the dating of the stones remains unclear. Only the fact that they were erected indicates that they are not erratic blocks from the Ice Age. The presence of a stone circle at Cullaun, (possibly a Dun ), and the fact that there are five (now destroyed) at Timoney cairn was, validate the presence of Neolithic people in this region. However, there is also evidence of human presence that points to a more recent date.

No local legend mentions the stones, which proves nothing as not every historical site is mentioned in local legends. Since the landowner carried out land consolidation on the lands of Timoneyhills and Cullaun in the 19th century, this could also explain the origin of the stones. In 1814 he planted many small forests in the rocky area to make the land more attractive, but the stones would hardly have bothered him and it was completely unnecessary to erect them, at least in part, with great difficulty.

literature

  • Kenneth McNally: Standing Stones and other monuments of early Ireland . Appletree, Belfast 1984, ISBN 0-86281-121-X .

Web links