Altóir na Gréine stood for approximately 4,000 years on Dingle peninsula before vanishing in 19th century.
More info : theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/18/bronze-age-tomb-discovered-county-kerry-ireland
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By Seán Mac an tSíthigh
Iriseoir Fise
An ancient tomb, described by archaeologists as “untouched” and “highly unusual” has been discovered on the Dingle Peninsula in Co Kerry.
The tomb was uncovered in recent days during land improvement works being carried out by a farmer.
The National Monument Service has requested that the location of the structure should not be disclosed in order to prevent the possibility of disturbance.
The tomb was uncovered by a digger during land reclamation work when a large stone slab was upturned, revealing a slab-lined chamber beneath.
On closer inspection an adjoining sub-chamber was found at what appears to be the front of the tomb.
The tomb contained an unusual smooth oval-shaped stone and what is believed to be human bone.
More:
rte.ie/news/2021/0416/1210287-tombs-kerry-dingle-peninsula/
rte.ie/news/munster/2017/0925/907390-megalithic/
A hillwalker in west Kerry has made a stunning discovery which connects a 4,000-year-old tomb with the equinox. The megalithic tomb, known as the Giant’s Grave, is situated in the valley of Loch an Dúin on the eastern side of the Conor Pass.
Ancient rock art can be found within the tomb, including a cup and circle near the head of the tomb.
For the past 14 years Daithí Ó Conaill, a retired school principal, has visited the site during the winter and summer solstice hoping to make a connection between the tomb and the sun.
He has now discovered that the wedge tomb is actually aligned to the setting sun of the equinox, which last occurred on Friday 22 September.
As the sun sets directly into a ‘V’ shaped valley in the distant Brandon mountain range, a shaft of light enters the wedge tomb, illuminating the chamber and the rock art at the head of the tomb. The event can be witnessed at sunset for a number of days either side of the equinox.
Archaeologist Míchéal Ó Coiléain who has carried out extensive surveys in Loch an Dúin said it was a stunning discovery, providing a fine example of the engineering brilliance demonstrated by the people who constructed it.
“Daithí’s discovery is wonderful and it goes to show that people living 4000 years ago are aware of movements of the sun. They are agricultural communities, so to know when the longest days of the year, the shortest, and when the equinoxes fall is so important. To construct such a perfectly positioned monument required remarkable expertise and knowledge.”
The Equinox occurs twice a year when the plane of the Earth’s equator passes directly through the centre of the Sun’s disc. During an equinox, night and day are approximately the same duration.
Danny Healy-Rae and the Little People: Fairies to blame for problems on bad road, says TD
It was a puzzling case of Danny Healy-Rae and the ‘little people’.
The Kerry TD is blaming poor road conditions around Killarney on fairies, according to his daughter.
Mr Healy-Rae believes that mythical creatures are at work on the main route between Killarney and Cork and that they are responsible for the appalling condition of the road.
Kerry County Council last night confirmed it had given the go-ahead for a donkey sanctuary and roadway now under construction in a unique Bronze Age valley near the Conor Pass which contains dozens of archaeological monuments.
The council said it had made its ruling “based on the information” it was given. No archaeological survey was demanded by the council.
The donkey sanctuary is within an archaeological complex of recorded monuments and the proximity to the monuments is causing concern.
Archaeologists from the National Monuments Service and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht are on their way to the Loch a Dúin valley near Cloghane amid concerns the development may be too close to a large fulacht fiadh (a Bronze Age cooking pit) and other archaeological monuments.
The council was approached by the proposer of a donkey sanctuary about whether permission would be required. The council said as the shed and road were agricultural in nature no planning was needed.
Kerry County Council last night issued a statement saying “based on the information it had received” it had decided the works did not need planning.
The valley in question has 90 monuments including fulachtaí fiadh and 12km of pre-bog field walls dating from the Bronze Age.
More than half a kilometre of roadway has been constructed and work has begun on the donkey sanctuary. Much of the valley — apart from a small forested section — is a special area of conservation, including Scorid River. Forestry and fisheries officials have also visited the site.
A statement from the council last night read: “Based on the information received and the nature of the development, a certificate of exemption was issued, confirming that the development, as proposed, did not require planning permission.
“An initial inspection of the site has been undertaken by the council’s planning staff and the county archaeologist to determine if the development is being carried out in according with the exemption issued. The matter has also been referred to the National Monuments Section of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.”
The council said it would be carrying out further detailed inspections and will contact the developer in the coming days.
An archaeologist who has part-surveyed the valley said the entire area with its structures thousands of years old was to the Bronze Age what the Céide Fields in Mayo were to the Stone Age in terms of significant monuments.
irishexaminer.com/ireland/council-approves-donkey-sanctuary-on-ancient-site-249042.html
Conor Pass; dingle-peninsula.ie/conor.html
A 64-year-old farmer has been fined €25,000 at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee for destroying a 1,000-year-old ringfort, which was a protected national monument.
In one of the first prosecutions of its kind to come before the courts, John O’Mahony pleaded guilty to carrying out work on the fort on his farm at Causeway in Co Kerry in February 2008, without notifying the National Monuments Service in advance.
More here:
rte.ie/news/2012/0302/omahonyj.html
A Causeway man is facing a possible 5 year jail term etc etc.
More info :
kerryman.ie/news/man-faces-jail-for-demolishing-ancient-ring-fort-2949787.html
From u.tv
The 700 metres of earthen works that surrounded the ancient Dun Mor Fort on the Dingle Peninsula were levelled at the weekend by an excavating machine. An entrance and a standing stone with an ogham inscription were also removed.
Heritage Ireland spokeswoman Isobel Smyth said it was a dreadful act. “This is a very important site and we want to see an investigation carried out,” she said.
The 80 acre Dun More fort overlooks the Blasket Islands and the Skelligs. The Ogham stone which was removed contained an inscription to Dhuibne, a deity of the Corca Dhuibne tribe which lived in the area from around 1,000 BC to 600 AD.
Gardai visited the site yesterday and have begun an inquiry into the incident.
“There is no preservation order but it is listed as a National Monument and should not have been interfered with,” said a spokesman.
The destruction was uncovered at the weekend by local walking tour guide and amateur archaeologist Con Moriarty. “Someone has to be held responsible for this outrageous behaviour. People are lamenting the loss of historic sites and artefacts in wartime Iraq but here it is happening in peace time Ireland,” he said.
It is understood the man responsible is from the local area. The Dingle Peninsula, which is part of the famous Ring of Kerry route, contains nearly 40 national monuments and around 2,000 other archaeological sites.
Dun Mor was one of the biggest settlements of its kind in Europe, according to Galway-based archaeologist Michael Gibbons. “The average ring fort was around 30 metres in diameter. This was 500-600 metres. This is vandalism on an unbelievable scale,” he said.
According to a Heritage Council survey, around 10% of all national monuments have been lost in the last 10 years. The vast majority of this destruction is carried out by farmers who are reclaiming land. Mr Gibbons said that changes in Irish farming had accelerated the process. “As farm sizes increase and smaller farms decline, farmers are gobbling up land they have no connection with. We are losing a lot of monuments, especially in Munster,” he said.
Under the new National Monuments Bill being prepared by Environment Minister Martin Cullen, the fines for destruction of a national monuments will increase from a maximum of 62,000 euro (£41,000) to 10 million euro (£6.6 million).
