C2500 : Information board, Beltany Stone Circle

taken 14 years ago, near to Raphoe, Co Donegal, Ireland

Information board, Beltany Stone Circle
Information board, Beltany Stone Circle
The text is in Irish and English - the latter is copied here

"This Stone Circle is made up of 64 large stones enclosing a low earfh platform; there may originally have been about 80 stones. One of the stones on the north-east side of the circle is decorated with cupmarks—small circular depressions—on the side facing towards the centre of the monument. A single stone, about 2 metres high, standing to the south-east of the circle probably had some function in relation to ceremonies carried on at the circle.

Stone Circles like this one were built in the later Bronze Age (1400-800 BC). We do not know what they were used for, but they were probably associated with religious rituals which may have included observations of the sun and the moon. Cremated remains are sometimes found inside the circles, but they seem not to have been specifically designed as places of burial. A stone head found at this site was probably carved in the pre-Christian Iron Age (4OOBC-400AD) and may indicate that this monument remained a place of ceremonial activity for many centuries after it was first built."
Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Kenneth Allen and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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C2500, 16 images   (more nearby search)
Photographer
Date Taken
Monday, 21 June, 2010   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 21 June, 2010
Category
Information board   (more nearby)
Subject Location
Irish: geotagged! C 255 004 [100m precision]
WGS84: 54:51.0915N 7:36.1879W
Camera Location
Irish: geotagged! C 255 004
View Direction
Southeast (about 135 degrees)
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