MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS
OF IRELAND.COM
OF IRELAND.COM
| GRANGE LOIS STONE CIRCLE |
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| This Stone Circle at Grange, 'Ciorcal Liag na Grainsi', is the largest and one of the finest in Ireland and was built around 2,100 BC by Bronze Age people living around the lake of Lough Gur, 'Loch Goir'. The circle, located on the eastern shores of the lake, is almost certainly a religious site and is aligned to the sunrise on the summer solstice and is 10m in width, 1.3m in height and nearly 70m across. The circle consists of 113 large stones, set upright in sockets and surrounded by a bank of earth, turf and small stones. Most of the orthostats are of local limestone, but some are volcanic breccia from over a mile away and of these, the heaviest stone just north of the entrance, known locally as 'Rannach Cruim Dubhh', (prominent black stooper or hunch-back), weighs over 60 metric tons, and aligns with mid-summer sunrise. As the sun rises, the first rays of light shine directly through the narrow entrance passageway and into the center of the circle. During excavations, archaeologists found pottery, arrowheads and fragments of human bones. |
| CO-ORDINATES 52 30' 53.03"N...8 32' 26.36"W |
