Archaeology
Tombs and stone circles
| Creggandeveskey,
Co. Tyrone |
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Structures such as megalithic tombs and stone circles were
buried beneath the growing peat in upland areas from about 1200
BC onward. Many of these sites were uncovered when the peat
on the blanket bog was being hand-cut, and monuments such as
Creggandevesky court tomb in County Tyrone were hidden in this
way until the 20th century. There are undoubtedly many more
remaining to be discovered.
Megalithic tombs
Some of the most impressive structures in Ireland are the large
stone Megalithic tombs. These tombs demonstrate the engineering
skills of their builders and are our oldest surviving monuments.
There are four main types of megalithic tombs:
- Court tomb - has an open area
or court at one end
- Portal tomb - has an impressive
entrance with a large capstone
- Passage tomb - has a passageway
to a burial chamber deep inside a mound
- Wedge tomb - is wide at the
front and narrow at the back
Map of
tombs recorded in Northern Ireland peatlands
Click on a marker on the map above, to find out more about the
archaelogical finds.
Stone circles
While tombs are located across much of the Irish countryside,
stone circles are heavily concentrated in two areas:
- mid-Ulster, mainly Tyrone
- Cork/Kerry
|
Ariel view of Copney stone circles,
Co. Tyrone
|
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There is a marked contrast between
the mid-Ulster stone circles and the Cork/Kerry group. In Ulster,
stone circles are usually composed of rather small stones often
no more than 0.3m high, while the Cork/Kerry stones can be over
2m. The use of small stones in Ulster must have been deliberate,
as larger stones were available and used for building tombs.
The small stones used in the mid-Ulster stone circles make them
more vulnerable to land reclamation and more difficult to spot
in cutover peat.
There is no general agreement about the function of stone circles,
but they were probably used for elite group or community rituals.
Cairns, mounds of stone used as memorials, are frequently found
in and around stone circles and suggest that burial was a regular
activity associated with stone circles.
Map
of stone circles recorded in Northern Ireland peatlands
Click on a marker on the map above, to find out more about the
archaelogical finds.
