By Bernd Biege
Ireland Travel Expert, about.com
When visiting Ireland you might get confused - what exactly is the difference between a wedge tomb and a passage tomb? What is a rath? And when exactly is an island a crannog? And where do the Fianna and the fairies fit in?
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Let me help you out with some basic explanations, sorted by alphabet:
Cairns
Roughly said a cairn is an artificially constructed heap of stones. Queen Maeve's Grave on top of Knocknarea (near Sligo) is a prime example. Here we actually do not know whether the cairn is solid or a tomb.
Cashels
Cashels
are basically ringforts built mainly of stone. Often this takes the
form of an earthen enclosure with and outer ditch and an inner
earth-wall, topped by an additional stone-wall. The latter could be
either a basic breast-high structure or a massive construction.
Court Tombs
First
appearing around 3,500 BC these are (usually) half-moon shaped tombs
with a pronounced "courtyard" in front of the entrance. The courtyard
was supposedly used for rituals, either during burials or at festive
occasions.
Crannógs[post_ads_2]
Crannógs are ringforts on small islands near a shore
- the fort is identical in size to the island, both are often connected
to the mainland by a narrow bridge or causeway. The island could be
either natural or artificially created (or expanded). As a rule the more
circular an island the more likely it is to be artificial.
Dolmens
Dolmens are the uncovered remains of portal tombs. The most famous Irish dolmen is Poulnabrone in the Burren.
Enclosures
Generally
anything that cannot be identified and encloses a part of the landscape
is referred to as an enclosure - descriptive but not very definite.
What this tells you is that there is a man-made structure we do not know
a lot about. It could be ceremonial or military, a ringfort - the main
difference being that military structures tend to have a ditch outside
the walls for practical reasons. Enclosures might also be found in
conjunction with tombs and/or henges. Navan Fort (near Armagh) seems to have been a ceremonial enclosure, so were some earthworks on the Hill of Tara.
Fairy Hills
After
a few millennia of existence the passage tombs and similar buildings
were re-interpreted as gates to the otherworld and dwelling places of
fairies. This may in part be a reflection of the mysterious symbols
carved into the stones and artifacts that could be found in or near
tombs.
Henges
Henges are circles built out of stones or
wood, they have a purely ceremonial background and might have
astronomical or geographical alignments. None of the Irish henges are as
spectacular as Stonehenge in England.
Heroes' Graves and Beds[post_ads_2]
Partly
destroyed and uncovered tombs, open chambers and dolmens were often
re-interpreted in the light of Celtic mythology - mostly the Fianna
cycle. Ireland abounds with structures said to be the (often final)
resting places of heroes and lovers.
Hill Forts
Hill forts
are either ringforts or ceremonial enclosures, located on a hilltop.
Sometimes these hill forts are combined with or even placed on top of
tombs.
La Tène Stones
Only found in Turoe and
Castlestrange, La Tène Stones are basically standing stones with
carvings identical to those of Celtic tribes on the European mainland.
Ley-Lines
"The
old straight track" can be found in Ireland too - ley-hunters have
identified several good examples. But as the science, history and even
existence of ley-lines is disputed the field is wide open for interpretation. Basically ley-lines
are alignments connecting important places, forming a grid on the
landscape. As these alignments are far less supported by hard evidence
than the astronomical or solar alignment of an individual site a lot of
ley-hunting quickly descends into mere speculation.
Ogham-Stones
Standing
stones bearing inscriptions in the ancient Ogham-system, a special
written language mainly used in Ireland. Unfortunately the inscriptions
are generally very short and not very interesting. Ogham stones form a
"bridge" between pre-historic and early Christian times.
Passage Tombs
Passage
tombs are round tombs with a definitely identifiable passage leading
from an entrance to the burial chamber. Most popular around 3,100 BC.
One of the best-known passage tombs in the world is Newgrange, though nearby Knowth actually has two passages. Tombs like these two or the main tombs at Loughcrew often have spectacular astronomical, especially solar alignments. Geographical alignments seem obvious at Carrowmore.
Portal Tombs[post_ads_2]
Portal
tombs are constructed out of three (sometimes more) massive standing
stones, bearing an even more massive slab. Looking like a portal. The
covering slab can be up to 100 tons in weight and forms the roof of a
chamber. Most portal tombs were erected between 3,000 and 2,000 BC.
Promontory Forts
These
are ringforts located on promontories, one side of the "ring" often
consisting of sheer cliffs. The Aran Islands do have the most
spectacular forts of this kind, especially Dun Aonghasa.
Raths
Raths are ringforts consisting mainly of a ditch and an earth wall - the last usually topped by a wooden palisade.
Ringforts
Any
roughly circular fortification from prehistoric times is generally
called a ringfort - raths, cashels, promontory forts and cashels being
examples. The distinction between (defensive) ringforts and (ceremonial)
enclosures is not always easy as both make use of walls and ditches. A
fort will usually have the ditch outside the wall to make things harder
for attacking enemies.
Souterrains[post_ads_2]
Souterrains are
cellars, underground passages created near settlements and believed to
have been used as storage areas, hiding places and escape routes. Some
appear near tombs such as Dowth (near Bru na Boinne), leading to considerable confusion amongst antiquarians.
Standing Stones
Standing
stones are basically monoliths placed on their own or forming part of a
henge. In conjunction with tombs, enclosures or natural features even
solitary standing stones may have astronomical, solar or geographical
alignments. Some standing stones were erected for purely practical
purposes, though - as scratching posts for cattle.
Wedge Tombs
Wedge
tombs are very similar to court tombs - actually they look like
truncated court tombs. Leading to the impression of a "wedge", hence the
name. Popular from 2,000 BC.
