Stone row
A stone row or stone alignment is a linear arrangement of
Description
The term alignment is sometimes taken to imply that the rows were placed purposely in relation to other factors such as other monuments or topographical or astronomical features. Archaeologists treat stone rows as discrete features however and alignment refers to the stones being lined up with one another rather than anything else. Their purpose is thought to be religious or ceremonial perhaps marking a processional route. Another theory is that each generation would erect a new stone to contribute to a sequence that demonstrated a people's continual presence.
Stone rows can be few metres or several kilometres in length and made from stones that can be as tall as 2m, although 1m high stones are more common. The terminals of many rows have the largest stones and other
A well known example is the
Examples
- Beenalaght - Six stones (one fallen), County Cork, Ireland
- Coolcoulaghta Standing Stones - two stones, County Cork, Ireland
- Eightercua - Four stones, County Kerry, Ireland
- Knocknakilla - Four stones (one fallen), County Cork, Ireland
- Maughanasilly Stone Row - five stones (one fallen), County Cork, Ireland
Notes
- ^ Power (1997), p.23
Sources
- Ó Nualláin, Seán. "Stone Rows in the South of Ireland". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature, volume 88C, 1988. JSTOR 25516044
- Power, Denis. Archaeological inventory of County Cork, Volume 3: Mid Cork. Stationery Office, 1992. ISBN 978-0-7076-4933-7
- Lancaster Brown, P. (1976). Megaliths, myths, and men: an introduction to astro-archaeology. New York: Taplinger Pub. Co.
- Ruggles, Clive. "The Stone Rows of South-west Ireland: A First Reconnaissance". Journal for the History of Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy, Supplement, volume 25, 1994