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Solving Stonehenge, the new key to an ancient enigma

Solving Stonehenge, the new key to an ancient enigma

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Rathnadrinna Fort - Hillfort in Ireland (Republic of) in Co. Tipperary

Submitted by Equinox on Thursday, 18 March 2010  Page Views: 8530

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Rathnadrinna Fort Alternative Name: Rath na Drinne, Fort of the Contest
Country: Ireland (Republic of)
NOTE: This site is 7.54 km away from the location you searched for.

County: Co. Tipperary Type: Hillfort

Map Ref: S08583788
Latitude: 52.492687N  Longitude: 7.874413W
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
no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data 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.
no data 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
5
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Rathnadrinna Fort
Rathnadrinna Fort submitted by durhamnature : 1902 drawing from "Ancient Forts of Ireland" via archive.org (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ring fort may have held Bronze Age sports arena. A ring fort in Co Tipperary holds “massive potential for discoveries” according to archaeologists who have carried out the first survey of the site, which is much bigger than most ring forts. Archaeologists have long been curious about the origins of the Rathnadrinna Fort located about 3km south of the Rock of Cashel – one of Ireland’s most important heritage locations and seat of the High Kings of Munster.

The unusually large and distinctive landmark is still subject to many of the traditional taboos surrounding fairy forts. Archaeologists say that many people in rural areas still believe it is unwise to enter a fairy fort or to cut down perimeter trees or vegetation.

Ian Doyle, head of conservation services and archaeology with the Heritage Council, said it was traditionally believed that the fort was a “defended farmstead” of a type commonly built in Ireland about 1,200 years ago.

But while the “average run-of-the-mill fairy fort” is ringed by one defensive perimeter ditch, “Rathnadrinna Fort is quite rare because it has three rings”. Despite the historical significance of the landscape, the fort has never been excavated.

Mr Doyle said “when you think of Tara, the countryside surrounding the Rock of Cashel must hold massive potential for discoveries”. This led the council to fund a survey of the site which was carried out by a team of archaeologists led by Cashel-based Richard O’Brien and the Co Mayo company Earthsound Archaeological Geophysics.

Using highly sensitive equipment, the soil was subjected to “high-resolution magnetic imaging” – similar to an MRI scan. It is the first time that any of the fairy forts in the countryside surrounding the Rock of Cashel has been surveyed in this manner.

Speaking to The Irish Times about the results, Mr O’Brien said that “none of the traditional evidence associated with ring forts – such as houses, hearths or rubbish pits – was found”. Instead, the team discovered that the site may have been first used 3,000 years ago during the late Bronze Age.

He said one of the most exciting discoveries was evidence of a Stonehenge-style circle of wooden posts suggestive of “a ceremonial or ritual role for the fort”.

Mr O’Brien said the use of the site would have changed down through the centuries and the survey results indicate that it had “a royal function”. But the most intriguing possibility, he said, was that the “vast interior area which is much larger than most ring forts is like a sports arena”.

Rathnadrinna translates as the “Fort of the Contest”, he added.

More, with small aerial photo at the Irish Times.


Note: “vast interior area which is much larger than most ring forts is like a sports arena”
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davidmorgan has found this location on Google Street View:

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
S0738 : M8, Junction 9 by N Chadwick
by N Chadwick
©2018(licence)
S0739 : Carpark near Cashel by Steven Brown
by Steven Brown
©2024(licence)
S0839 : R692 approaching Cashel by N Chadwick
by N Chadwick
©2018(licence)
S0835 : Cross roads near Poulagower by kevin higgins
by kevin higgins
©2007(licence)
S0839 : Slip road roundabout by kevin higgins
by kevin higgins
©2007(licence)

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"Rathnadrinna Fort" | Login/Create an Account | 3 News and Comments
  
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Re: Rathnadrinna Fort by davidmorgan on Sunday, 14 October 2012
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Street View -
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Re: Rathnadrinna Fort by Anonymous on Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Oh, thanks for the article and for the link to Irish Times, with photos it is much more interesting. thanks a lot for the job you do at this website.
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Re: Rathnadrinna Fort by CarolinaA on Friday, 09 April 2010
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That's quite bizarre. At the very same time this story was posted I was looking for information about another Irish ring fort - the Grianan of Aileach in Donegal - it having been mentioned several times in Seamus Deane's Reading in the Dark, which I've just finished reading.
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