Drombeg stone circle
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Drombeg stone circle (also know as the The Druid's Altar), is a stone circle located west of Ross Carbery, County Cork, Ireland. It consists of seventeen closely spaced stones spanning 9m (29ft) in diameter. A "Cork-Kerry type" stone circle, it is flanked by a pair of 2 meter high recumbent axil stones, which provide a south-west axis, and orientate the monument in the direction of the setting sun during the midwinter solstice.
The site was excavated and restored in 1958. During this process a pot was found in the centre of the circle, containing the cremated remains of a young adolescent wrapped with thick cloth. Carbon dating of samples taken from the site suggest that it was active c. 945 - 830 BC. The ruins of two round stone walled prehistoric huts and a fulacht fiadh lie just forty meters west of the momument. Evidence suggests the fulacht fiadh was in use up until the 5th century AD.
Drombeg is one of the most visited megalithic sites in Ireland. During the summer tourist season an entrance fee is charged. The area of the circle has been covered in gravel to protect it from the volume of visitors.
[edit] Source
- Noonan, Damien (2001). "Castles & Ancient Monuments of Ireland", Arum Press. ISBN 1 8541 0752 6