Grange stone circle

The Grange Stone Circle (Irish Lios na Gráinsí, dt " ring fort of the older farm " ) was built about 2100 BC. It is equipped with 113 stones on the circumference and 48 meters in diameter of the largest stone circle the island of Ireland.

Location

The stone circle is located about four kilometers north of Bruff and 300 m west of Lough Gur on the road R512 in the townland Grange ( Irish At Ghráinsigh ) in the Civil parish Monasteranenagh ( Mainistir to Aonaigh ) in County Limerick.

Description

Completely different from the "Eastern Circles", the stone circles of Cork and Kerry and the Ulster series has Grange, who belongs (the stone circles of Glebe ) to only nine " Western Circles", an approximately 11 -m-wide wall of about 1 2 m in height, against the inside of the circle stones are laid. The monument therefore has rather the shape of a henge or a " walled stone circle " (English embanked stone circle ) as a conventional stone circle. 12 large orthostat are distributed on the circumference and stand facing each other. In the circle leads, as another unique piece, flanked by a particularly large stones gear. The northern entrance of his stones, known as the " Crom Dubh " ( the old man (or crooked ) Black - the name of a Celtic god ) is about 2.5 meters high and weighs more than 50 tons. A found in the center post hole shows that the circle was measured from here, what is the reason for its almost perfect shape.

During the excavation of numerous fragments of Neolithic pottery were discovered two stoves with human and animal bones and bronze material.

A smaller, more damaged stone circle ( Grange North ) located north in a field.