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indigo_rose99After yesterday's driving marathon -- leaving my accelerator foot the worse for wear -- I was reluctant to try for any destination that required more than an hour driving each way. A bit of perusing the guidebook led me to "Lough Gur" (pronounced "Lock-ER"), supposedly just a few km out of town. It said that the coolest part of this place is
"113 embanked uprights" doesn't really give you a proper sense of how simply HUGE this thing was! I couldn't fit the whole thing in my camera. ....I mean, to take a picture.... You get the idea. The stones varied in size from about knee high to taller than me. It was not at all like the pictures of Stonehenge. These were not tall stones standing alone... I was surprised that it didn't fill with water -- the land was built up around the circle. Many of the smaller stones had their tops on the level of the land, if you were standing just outside the circle. If you stepped over a rock into the circle, you were stepping down about 2 feet. Something I read mentioned that the center of the circle was filled with something (don't remember what now), but perhaps that provides good drainage.
the superb Grange Stone Circle, known as the Lios, a 4000-year-old circular enclosure made up of 113 embanked uprights. It is the largest prehistoric circle of its kind in Ireland.In my usual fashion, I got lost in spite of 3 maps, a guidebook, and directions from the concierge. Ah, for a TomTom that worked in Ireland! But I did find the ring. Only four wrong turns (eliminating every other possible avenue) made me feel like finding the circle was a great accomplishment.
"113 embanked uprights" doesn't really give you a proper sense of how simply HUGE this thing was! I couldn't fit the whole thing in my camera. ....I mean, to take a picture.... You get the idea. The stones varied in size from about knee high to taller than me. It was not at all like the pictures of Stonehenge. These were not tall stones standing alone... I was surprised that it didn't fill with water -- the land was built up around the circle. Many of the smaller stones had their tops on the level of the land, if you were standing just outside the circle. If you stepped over a rock into the circle, you were stepping down about 2 feet. Something I read mentioned that the center of the circle was filled with something (don't remember what now), but perhaps that provides good drainage.
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Date: 2007-02-18 06:53 pm (UTC)Ireland map data is reportedly coming this summer.