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

Fieldnotes by Heron

Latest Posts

Dungiven Standing Stone (Standing Stone / Menhir)

This is a tall rectangular standing stone about 7 and a half feet at its tallest point located on a mound behind the modern Catholic church in Dungiven. The church is on the main road east out of the town and the stone itself can be accessed by climbing over the fence at the back of the grave yard.

The stone is a tall rectangular stone about 4 foot wide and 0.5 - 1 ft thick. It stands on what appears to be a man made mound about 6 foot about the datum of the hill its on. The mound its on is on the north side of the river Roe (which rises about 7 miles east between Glenshane and Coolnasillagh mountains). The ruins of an old Celtic church are in the small valley below it. The current church it stands behind would only be about 150 years old.

Its orientation (along its width) is roughly east west so that it faces north and south.

The stone itself is impressive in its size and location. Its large flat surface is covered in lichen and the vibe about it is a definite male one. The day I was there was a warm summers day (by norn iron standards) and the view out to the south ran parallel to the Glenelly valley and over the bog land. To the north stands Benbradagh mountain. Whether its location (above an old church and beside a new one) is any indication of the areas usage is unknown.

Browne's Hill (Portal Tomb)

Massive dolman just outside Carlow town. Cap stone is 130 tons and is said to be the biggest in Europe. It has a small layby for cars.

One word about this is MASSIVE. The capstone itself is made of granite and I still have the scrapes in my belt buckle from where I scrabbled up. The dolman itself feels much more like a huge rock they managed to prop up with some stones and its a good way down if you fell off the top.

Over all the site felt to me much more male (a la Stonehenge) in its vibe. Not somewhere I felt relaxed but some where I relaxed as I left.

Grianan of Ailech (Stone Fort / Dun)

The second picture of the Grainan shows the single entry door and a smaller portal low on the wall. This portal opens into a small passage that runs round the inner wall to a wall forming one of the walls of the doors passage. The portal is about 2 foot high but opens up to about 3-4 foot inside getting gradually larger until it reaches the inside of the doorway passage.

This doorway passage is about 8-10 foot (I think, didn't measure) long as it is the full thickness of the wall. If you go into the small passage (bring a torch, its pitch dark) and follow the curve round you will find a little light at the end where gaps in the rocks in the wall at the end let light in from from the main passage. Some gaps are big enough to stick a hand out. From the main passage looking at the wall you would have difficulty finding this hole.

There is a similar portal and passage curving round on the right hand side of the fort (looking out through the door) but the end wall is solid. This entrance is smaller.

Inside both of the passages its damp and cool with a loose rock floor. The roof is uneven so bring a torch or you'll skull yerself! Don't think its encouraged to crawl round these passages as they would not be considered safe.

Not sure what these passages are for as they must be part of the rebuild from the 1800s. There appears to be one opposite the main door but having seen the old rebuild plans which show both the above passages I think it may just be missing stones or a drain.

The fort itself (while rebuilt) is one of the most impressive in Ireland and commands an unrivaled view over loughs Foyle and Swilly. Just down from it is a spring (called a holy well, but most springs in Ireland are). An amazing place to be on a sunny day!
Born in County Derry I've spent a lot of time wandering round the various stone circles and hill forts in Ulster. Lot of formative years spent sitting atop Tirnoney dolman!

My TMA Content: