
Winter Solstice 2011; the sun was a perfect glowing ball – not shining, or blinding. I can’t do it justice with this photo, unfortunately.
Winter Solstice 2011; the sun was a perfect glowing ball – not shining, or blinding. I can’t do it justice with this photo, unfortunately.
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.
The eastern side of the boulder burial.
The western side of the boulder burial.
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.
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.
A close up of a couple of the more obvious, deeper cups.
The view from the pathway, northwards, to the ridge and the circle.
Looking southeast towards the pathway up from the road.
The flat-topped stone on the northern side of the circle, looking towards the southern arc.
ryaner and Fourwinds step quietly around the central kerbed cairn.
Looking from the internally-placed kerbed cairn to the embankment.
A section of the eastern exterior of the embankment. The bank is slabbed both internally and externally.
The approximate axial-line. Notice how the easternmost standing stone, a slab, is not parallel, but forms an angle to the line, towards the same target. Whatever that may be.
Yellow marker in estimated circle centre. From here the westernmost standing stone indicates the north ridge of Carrigfadda.
The top of the western circle-stone bears a more than passing resemblance to the top of Carrigfadda.
Viewed from the Leap road to the east.