I picked this up in Bantry yesterday;
skibbereenbookshop.com/books/irish-interest/751-the-sun-circles-by-jack-roberts.html
Not an academic volume, but very comprehensive and worth getting hold of if you’re interested in the circles of West Cork.
Anthony Murphy has a podcast here;
blog.mythicalireland.com/2013/09/podcast-interview-with-jack-roberts.html
Winter Solstice 2011; the sun was a perfect glowing ball – not shining, or blinding. I can’t do it justice with this photo, unfortunately.
This quarter’s ‘Archaeology Ireland’ has a three page feature on Stone Circles, by Muiris O’Sullivan and Liam Downey.
“The architecture and orientation of stone circles were inherently symbolic, reflecting in a fundamental way a sense of spirituality and belief in the otherworld...”
So there you are.
Wildlife galore. Birds nesting inside the first chamber and the eleventh plague of insects just outside (see photo after next).
Took this while thinking of the rising Equinox full moon? The view to the horizon along the barrow axis.
Also looking East. Someone had left what appeared to be a chunk of meat (I may be wrong, I couldn’t get too close to it) on top of the blocking stone and it and the whole barrow opening area was smothered with insects.
Underside of the capstone – a sheep’s eye view. Quartz droplets – deliberate stone selection, or the inevitable result of its ubiquity? Or rather, would it have been regarded as something separate/joined to the rock, or an expected/natural part of it?
The mid-portal to centre-axial line to the saddle between Carrigfadda and Coomatallin; declination measured by Jon Patrick at -24.3 degrees.
A view northwest towards Kippagh and the hidden Loch Atarriff.
The exterior and level top of the axial stone.
The mid-portal to centre axial line of the circle; declination measured by Clive Ruggles to -23.8 degrees.
The exterior of the rather ambiguous axial stone.
A view to the southeast; the two portals at the left of the picture and the axial stone at the right.
Standing Stone, long face aligned NE-SW. Circle on the mid-horizon line to the rear.
A wonderful site. Two boulder burials, about 65m apart, with magnificent views to Corran and Carrigfadda. The pyramidal shape of the eastern boulder – 2.5m*1.4m*1.35m, according to the Archaeological Inventory – mirrors the shape of the latter.
Permission to visit may be obtained from the farm on the other side of the road.
Large – 2.3m * 2.1m * 1.2m according to the Archaeological Inventory – with long views to the north and west. Four support stones, although only two and a scattering of field debris were immediately apparent.
Permission to visit may be obtained from the nearby farm.
The eastern side of the boulder burial.
The western side of the boulder burial.
The Drogheda Independent carries the latest news from the Save Bremore campaign...
“THE Save Bremore Heritage campaign got under way with a very positive and informative meeting in the Huntsman’s Inn Gormanston.
Representatives of a number of different local and regional groups met to discuss the planned deep water port and its possible impact on that area of archaeological richness...”
Article continues...
drogheda-independent.ie/news/new-road-to-port-would-be-vital-2067124.html
Western Boulder Burial: Looking East.
Western Boulder Burial: The two support stones on the western side.
The two boulder burials, as seen from the by-road.
Eastern Boulder Burial: Looking East.
Eastern Boulder Burial: Looking North.
Eastern Boulder Burial: Looking Northeast towards Carrigfadda, the dominant landmark of the area.
Eastern Boulder Burial: The base of the cover-stone, resting, on this western side, on two supports.
Underneath here are three stones; one definite upright, one possible and one possibly fallen.
Picture taken at the most northerly, intermediate, point at which you can stand and still see both Northern and Southern rows. Youngfella straying in.
Looking SW. It’d need verification, but the pair seems to be oriented on an area where the winter solstice sun should set. Difficult to be sure of the extent of the ‘blindfolding’ by the rise to the west.
Winter Solstice 2009. Slightly before touch, but not yet undone by cloud.
An article on the loss of the last remaining stone of this circle, only ten years, or so, ago:
“.., I was told by the present occupant that the farmer had grown tired of ploughing around the stone. Therefore he dug a hole and buried it.”
by Alexander Jarvie.
Alexander Jarvie has written an article about the loss, within the last few years, of the cup-marked stone at Westertown.
“...The reason given – he couldn’t be bothered driving around it...”
There was some recent curiosity on the forum about monument alignments. Here’s a few that have been calculated for the axial stone circles of Cork and Kerry. Crude, but surely within symbolic range.
Nothing like seeing the real thing though, naturally ;)
A great picture of Drombeg from the sky.
The circle, looking NW. Note what are sometimes referred to as the male (slender, phallic) and female (lozenge-shaped) stones on the far side. Whatever any original meaning may have been, the excavator found that a great deal of trouble was taken to erect the lozenge-shaped stone into that exact stance and appearance.
An addition to my earlier photo (see across) showing both cupmarks as well as the axe(?) shape on top of the axial stone. There is an apparent semicircle adjacent to the fainter left-hand cup, but this is most likely a natural mark in the stone.
A shot taken from the road, opposite to Uwe’s perspective (next picture). It is being very well maintained at the moment and is beautifully framed by the bracken. Might have something to do with Drimoleague Heritage Walks?
The supported stone is held by two contacts, one on each of the other erratics – this and the one in the next picture.
The supported stone is partly held by the large rock to the rear. The small pillar is wedged tightly and upright, between the former and the ground. Odd one.
The point at which the supported stone touches the ground underneath.
The standing stone in the field on the other side of the junction. Same townland. Not sure about this one – it’s in the Inventory but not in the older maps and is in a fairly noticeable position.
An Taisce and Dr. Mark Clinton warn of the threat posed by the proposed extension for the development of Drogheda Port. Less than a week left to object.
“The forces are powerful but we must try, at least. Try not to stand by and let it happen again.”
heritageaction.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/bremore-renewed-threat-to-passage-tombs/
A close up of a couple of the more obvious, deeper cups.
The view from the pathway, northwards, to the ridge and the circle.