The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

Head To Head   The Modern Antiquarian   Eire Forum Start a topic | Search
Eire
Re: UPLAND LANDSCAPE ALTERATION IN SOUTH EAST IRELAND.
83 messages
Select a forum:
tjj wrote:
tiompan wrote:
rockhopper wrote:

As for the Irish Dlomen s? (What exactly is the plural of dolmen??!)
I've always had a problem with the idea that these were covered with mounds. If they were, and I've seen no evidence to prove conclusively that this was so, why did the mounds covering the dolmen vanish when other mounds did not? And if they were covered with mounds, how would anyone know what was underneath? It seems strange to me that if these mounds existed in the first place, why should they have exclusively vanished, whilst all other mounds (i.e. Knowth, Dowth, the English long barrows) have remained in place? Once a mound is in place, it seems to remain so.


There is quite a difference between the mounds of long barrows , passage tombs etc and the cairns that surrounded portal tombs .
The former dwarf the latter have kerb stones and are not composed of stones to anything like the same extent . It is this differece that could explain why some cairns were removed i.e. a useful source of stone .Furthermore none have been shown to cover the capstone suggesting the possibility that not only stabilising the orthostats the purpose may have also been to help the raise the capstone .


This has become an interesting and refreshing discussion. I like Rockhopper's anarchic and challenging approach. I have often wanted to ask such questions here but fear of looking uninformed and 'ignorant' stopped me. Your answer is helpful as always Tiompan - as ever with prehistory, more questions than answers. Am I right in remembering that you had said almost all of the the dolmens (portal tombs) are on the east/south-east coast of Ireland and west coasts of southern England and Wales - which seems to indicate it was a nation of sea going peoples who built them. I wonder if Rockhopper could say how far west in Ireland portal tombs are found (I know there is one in the Midlands at Aughnacliffe in Longford, where my mother came from).

I have the opportunity to spend some time in West Cork in May and will be looking at stone circles - was hoping there may be some portal tombs too. I'll be travelling from Fishguard so plan to see Carreg Samson on the way back.

All the best
J


TJJ ,the distribution on the east side of the Irish sea is Cornwall and the western extremities of Wales .In Ireland it is the area west of the Welsh monuments (Wicklow to Wexford )but also much of the north ( Aughnacliffe is on the southern edge of this distribution ) plus some in the west central area centred on Galway .


Reply | with quote
tiompan
Posted by tiompan
11th February 2012ce
12:00

Messages in this topic: