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Ark of Secrets - Neolithic spirit alive in the Middle Ages

Iron Age Britain, Barry Cunliffe

Iron Age Britain, Barry Cunliffe

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Tirnony - Portal Tomb in Ireland (Northern) in Co. Derry

Submitted by Anthony_Weir on Monday, 14 October 2002  Page Views: 9659

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Tirnony Alternative Name: Tirnoney
Country: Ireland (Northern) County: Co. Derry Type: Portal Tomb
Nearest Town: Maghera  Nearest Village: Maghera
Map Ref: C840017
Discoverer Map Number: D8
Latitude: 54.856004N  Longitude: 6.692818W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3

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Tirnony
Tirnony submitted by Anthony_Weir : Scan of colour slide from the 1970/80s (Vote or comment on this photo)
Portal Tomb in Co. Londonderry

By the side of a road leading NE to Killelagh Lough and Carntogher hill, this charming dolmen is remarkable for the free-standing orthostat, 1.8 metres high, which is beside one of the portal-stones. This suggests a derivation from the much longer court-tombs. The picturesque capstone tilts at the usual angle, and behind it is a well-defined square chamber.
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Tirnony
Tirnony submitted by maigo : This place is said to be a kind of power spot! (light energy). But, I felt nothing... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tirnony
Tirnony submitted by maigo : Site in Co. Derry Northern Ireland (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tirnony
Tirnony submitted by SteveTerry : Tirnony dolmen (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tirnony
Tirnony submitted by SteveTerry (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
C8401 : Tirnony Road, Tirnony by Kenneth  Allen
by Kenneth Allen
©2007(licence)
C8401 : Tirnony Dolmen by Kenneth  Allen
by Kenneth Allen
©2007(licence)
C8401 : Ranaghan Road by Kenneth  Allen
by Kenneth Allen
©2007(licence)
C8401 : Road at Tullyheran by Kenneth  Allen
by Kenneth Allen
©2007(licence)
C8302 : Farm buildings at Tullyheran by Kenneth  Allen
by Kenneth Allen
©2007(licence)

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"Tirnony" | Login/Create an Account | 6 News and Comments
  
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A new season of excavations at Tirnony Portal Tomb recommenced on Tuesday 1 March 201 by Andy B on Monday, 28 March 2011
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A new season of excavations at Tirnony Portal Tomb recommenced on Tuesday 1 March 2011.

The excavations will continue for about 1 month from this date. During this time we intend to complete the excavations begun last autumn, both inside the tomb and around the exterior. We will be having open afternoons each Friday from 2.00pm to 4.00pm when all are welcome to come and see the excavations. Also sometime before the end of the excavation we hope to have another Saturday open day.

Watch this space for further updates on the progress of the excavations and information on forthcoming open days.

The work is being carried out by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), in conjunction with the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork (CAF) at Queen’s.

http://blog.ni-environment.gov.uk/NIEA/
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Megalithic tomb’s secrets revealed after 5,500 years by davidmorgan on Monday, 22 November 2010
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Flint tools from the dawn of time and an ancient blue glass bead have been uncovered by archaeologists excavating a portal tomb in Northern Ireland for the first time in 50 years.

The team are thrilled with the discoveries yielded by Tirnony dolmen near Maghera.

Portal tombs, which are among the oldest built structures still surviving in the province, are usually off limits to archaeologists as preservation orders protect them from intrusive processes such as excavations.

However the dolmen collapsed earlier this year due to weathering and the affects of tree roots. Before repairs are carried out, the archaeologists have the chance to unearth the secrets held in the tomb for 5,500 years. Cormac McSparron, who is from the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork at Queen's University Belfast, which is working with DoE archaeologists, said: “We expected to find evidence of human burial, but the nature of the soil has caused any bones to decay completely. But what we have found is grave goods placed in the tomb with the bodies.

“We have found several different types of flint tools — a couple of really fine flint knives and flint scrapers placed into the tomb with the personal possessions of the deceased, presumably for them to take with them into the afterlife.”

Pottery bowls dating from around 3,500 or 3,600BC were also found. Mr McSparron said there was also evidence for later use of the tomb.

“It became a centre of local interest and a ritual centre coming into almost the Christian era, and we have found a really beautiful blue glass bead dating to 200-300AD which would have been placed into the tomb, probably as a pendant rather than a necklace,” he said.


Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/megalithic-tombrsquos-secrets-revealed-after-5500-years-14995096.html#ixzz12joikVEA

Submitted by coldrum.
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Re: Maghera tomb: 5,000-year-old burial site to give up secrets by Runemage on Tuesday, 19 October 2010
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"Such portal tombs are only found in Ireland, Wales and Cornwall"

Perhaps the writer would like to be on the Megalithic Portal mailing-list ;-)




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Maghera tomb: 5,000-year-old burial site to give up secrets by davidmorgan on Tuesday, 19 October 2010
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From coldrum:

Archaeologists are to dig out a portal tomb in Northern Ireland for the first time in 50 years.

The collapse of Tirnony Dolmen near Maghera has produced a rare opportunity to discover what lies beneath — and exactly how old it is.

Normally portal tombs, which are among the oldest built structures still standing in Northern Ireland, are off limits to excavators and must be preserved.

But after the massive capstone of this portal tomb fell to the ground earlier this year, archaeologists will be able to uncover the secrets it has held for millennia before repairs are carried out.

Tirnony Dolmen is between 5,000 and 6,000 years old, according to Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIIEA) archaeologist Paul Logue.

“After standing in Northern Ireland weather for over 5,000 years some of the tomb’s structural stones have begun to crack, causing the capstone to slip,” he said.

“Before we start to repair the tomb we will excavate it to ensure that the archaeological material associated with it is recorded ahead of restoration work.

“When the tomb was first built it would have been used for interring the bones of selected members of the local stone age community. This could have included men and women, young and old. Finds from inside similar tombs include pottery and flint tools, possibly left as grave goods for use by the dead in the afterlife.

“We hope to find out more about how this tomb was built, when it was built and how it was used.”

Members of the public are invited to come along on Friday afternoons to find out for themselves what has been unearthed. The excavation will also be charted in a blog revealing the latest finds.

Mr Logue said the tomb was originally built by digging out a trench where the upright stones were embedded, packing round these with smaller stones before installing the massive capstone on top of them.

In recent years, the capstone, which weighs between two and a half and three tonnes, had begun to rock, putting pressure on the supporting stones beneath. These then moved, causing the capstone to slide further.

Such portal tombs are only found in Ireland, Wales and Cornwall, so there has long been a debate over where they originated and which portal tombs are the oldest. Archaeologists are hoping to carbon date any items they find which have fallen among the packed stones, giving an accurate date for the building o the tomb.

“We have to work out when these portal tombs appeared in Ireland. We haven’t done a dig on one of these for almost 50 years — it’s only on very very rare occasions that we decide to excavate because for something that important our job is to preserve rather than to excavate,” Mr Logue said.

“Because this one has been damaged, we can maybe answer a lot of questions.”

”When these things started getting built, there were also big rectangular houses starting to get built. We’re hoping to date the tomb and house types together - there might have been a wave of people coming into Northern Ireland with new ideas and new architecture.

“For the first time we would have seen domestic animals in Northern Ireland, for the first time we’d have seen fields. People were domesticating pigs and wild goats which became the sheep we have today.”

The excavation is being conducted by the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork at QUB with NIEA. The general public can visit on Fridays (2pm-4pm) or follow progress via the archaeologist’s blog on http://www.ni-environment.gov.uk
Background

The capstone of the Tirnony Dolmen is supported by three of six upright stones, two of which form the portal.

It is believed to be a 5,000 to 6000-year-old megalithic burial tomb. One of the small non-supporting stones

Read the rest of this post...
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Re: Tirnony by coldrum on Thursday, 22 April 2010
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