The Great Stone Circle at Grange in County Limerick |
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Grange stone circle, near Lough Gur in County Limerick is the largest stone circle in western Europe. The Irish name for this is Lios na Grainsi and it translates to mean “Stones of the Sun”. This was built around 2000 BC by the people who brought metal and beaker pottery to Ireland. This site is older than the later phases of Stonehenge’s construction (Stonehenge was built in 3 phases between 3000 and 1600 BCE). The Grange is the largest standing stone circle in Ireland and one of the most impressive. It is 150 feet in diameter and is enclosed by 113 standing stones. The largest stone is Ronnach Croim Duibh (the prominent Black Stone) and is over 13 feet high and weighs 40 tons. The stone circle is aligned with the rising sun at the Summer Solstice so on that morning the sun shines down directly in the centre of the circle. The entrance stones are matched by a pair of equally impressive slabs on the southwest side, whose tops slope down towards each other to form a v-shape. It has been calculated that these stones and the entranceway were aligned with the sunset of the Festival of Samhain. No one is exactly sure what types of rituals occurred here, but animal sacrifice may have occurred. No structures were found but excavators did discover two hearths, a few un-burnt human bones, some animal bones (mainly cattle), some bronze materials and numerous Neolithic pottery pieces. |
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