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Whitstone

Cairn(s)

<b>Whitstone</b>Posted by bawn79Image © Bawn79
Also known as:
  • Druids Altar

Nearest Town:Puckaun (6km SW)
OS Ref (IE):   R887896 / Sheet: 59
Latitude:52° 57' 25.63" N
Longitude:   8° 10' 5.38" W

Added by bawn79


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<b>Whitstone</b>Posted by bawn79 <b>Whitstone</b>Posted by bawn79

Fieldnotes

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Found out about this site from a local farmer who called it the 'Druids Altar'. I decided to have a look at it because its in an area called Carney and this townland is called Whitstone, so really sounds like cairn country. Didnt investigate up close because of cows in the field. The farmer assures me that the lane adjacent to the site is ok to go up and that the farmers that own the land are ok with people looking at it.
He also told me that there were oak trees growing in it but they were cut down. He also mentioned that there was another druids altar in the area solely made up of oak trees but that too was cut down. Thanks to Tim Heanen for the information.
bawn79 Posted by bawn79
7th November 2005ce

Megalithic tomb (possible)
Taken from the Archaeological Inventory of North Tipp

Situated on level poorly drained pasture. A low, elongated stony ridge, at least partly natural in origin, serves as a dump for field clearance debris. It measures 49m long (E-W) and is 10m wide. An orthostat, 1.5m high, stands about 10m frothe village of Ardcroney. A burial chamber is exposed in a partly demolished round cairn now some 20m in diameter. The chamber, uncovered during bulldozing operations in 1977, was subsequently excavated (Wallace 1977, 3-20). The cairn, originally about 33m in diameter, may have been enclosed by an earthen bank and ditch. The chamber, polygonal in plan and orientated N-S, is centrally placed in the cairn. It is 1.75m long, 1.4m wide and 0.7m high. An inward-leaning slab forms each of its sides, two upright stones form each end, and roofing is by means of a single large slab. The skeletons of two males and a decorated pottery vessel were found on the paved floor of the chamber. A bone from one of the skeletons yielded a radiocarbon determination corresponding to a calendar date of c. 3500 BC (Brindley, Lanting and Mook 1983, 1-9)
bawn79 Posted by bawn79
7th November 2005ce
Edited 11th January 2006ce