Gate cairn
A gate cairn is a prehistoric place of worship that occurs in the British Isles , especially in Cornwall and Devon, but also in Wales . It consists of a round stone border or a platform of loose stones around a natural gate , sometimes surrounded by a moat. The diameter of the approximately 35 known gate cairns range from 12 to over 30 m and their height varies from 0.5 m to 4.0 m. There is usually access to the enclosed area and pits in the floor area between the outcrop and the enclosure.
Finds of tools made of flint , ceramics, gravel and quartz as well as weapons and jewelry made of bronze made it possible to set up the facilities in the early 2nd millennium BC. BC, to be dated to the early Bronze Age .
Examples are: Alex Tor , Catshole Tor, Corndon Tor, Cox Tor, Hameldown Tor, Leather Tor, Limsboro Cairn, Rough Tor , Tolborough Tor, Top Tor, Tregarrick Tor, White Tor (Peter Tavy) and Yes Tor .
literature
- Frances Lynch: Megalithic tombs and Long Barrows in Britain . Shire, Princes Risborough 1997, ISBN 0-7478-0341-2 ( Shire archeology 73).
- Elizabeth Shee Twohig: Irish Megalithic tombs . Shire, Princes Risborough 1990, ISBN 0-7478-0094-4 ( Shire archeology 63).
- Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 .
Web links
- Description (last accessed on December 12, 2012)
- Description Engl. and picture of Alex Tor (last accessed December 12, 2012)