Heritage archives - Stone Circles

Introduction

Stone Circles are more often than not associated with the Stone Age but they are in fact Bronze Age monuments. The Bronze Age began about 2000BC in Ireland. Most Stone Circles are small with only five or seven uprights and another large stone positioned flat on the ground outside the circle. Some are very large such as the imposing stone circles at Drombeg, Co. Cork. However, Drombeg is an exception as it is dated to somewhere between 153 B.C and 127 A.D, the Iron Age. Irish stone circles are mostly more charming than impressive. There is also a certain enigma attached to them even to this very day, as their specific function is unknown. The stone circle in Drombeg certainly seems to have been used as a calendar to ascertain the shortest day of the year. Most are aligned with the setting sun. Astronomy aside, they may simply have been temples, a dedication to the sun god. A number of stone circles marked the site of a burial. While stone circles are a delight to the eye, one must remember that looks can be deceptive. Not only does Drombeg function in telling the time, it also marks a burial as a cremated body was found in the centre of the circle when it was excavated. This suggests that stone circles played a crucial part in the lives of the Bronze Age people as they fused time and death together as one. One has to recognise that these stone circles helped the primitive people to indicate a change and an end in the seasons that was about to occur.