On 2012-04-05 21:40, Elijah wrote:
Frog

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Elijah, The National Monument Service of Ireland lists a total of 14 henge type monuments in the entire country of these none have been sufficiently excavated to be able to precisely determine their function or age. They are all so degraded as to be mostly visible only on aerial photos and several are still likely to be reclassified as Ring works or hill forts. I myself have never seen one and the sites I have visited looking for these monuments were impossible to view on the ground.

A bit of a circular argument I think - "they are so degraded" - "none have been sufficiently excavated" - "I myself have never seen one" - "these monuments were impossible to view on the ground".
The reason you haven't been able to see any henges in Ireland is because they haven't been "excavated" yet; or in the of the 14 cases (you've suddenly found) listed by the National Monument Service of Ireland, they haven't been "sufficiently excavated"!
No wonder you were able to declare...

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And as for henges I haven't seen any here? Nor any causewayed enclosures.

John

On 2012-04-05 22:48, tiompan wrote:
The defining characteristic of a henge is it’s ditch and surrounding bank , the Irish examples are generally closer to embanked enclosures with no ditch and are often ploughed out or as frog suggests re-classified . Without a ditch they do not have causeways . The classic British henge i.e. an internally ditched enclosure with external bank are rare in Ireland , Dun Ruadh in Co. Tyrone is one of the few and Magheraboy one of the only two Causewayed Enclosures. George

On 2012-04-06 11:51, Elijah wrote:

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On 2012-04-05 22:48, tiompan wrote: The defining characteristic of a henge is it’s ditch and surrounding bank , the Irish examples are generally closer to embanked enclosures with no ditch and are often ploughed out or as frog suggests re-classified . Without a ditch they do not have causeways . The classic British henge i.e. an internally ditched enclosure with external bank are rare in Ireland , Dun Ruadh in Co. Tyrone is one of the few and Magheraboy one of the only two Causewayed Enclosures. George

Thanks George

I am clear what a henge is, but I note the suggestion that Irish henges may also have had a defensive, as well as a ritual function, which would perhaps explain the difference in style. Which if I'm not mistaken you describe as a circular embankment with no ditch, hence no causeway. If this is what you describe then a few questions spring to mind; were these embankments continuous, i.e. completely circular, and if so, did they have gated entrances?

John

On 2012-09-16 17:52, aknifethatfellfromthesky wrote:
there is more than one type of stone circle...ive visited hundreds and plenty of henges too. most bronze age circles are small, with small stones, small entrances and no avenues. neolithic circles are generally bigger in diameter, better constructed in relation alignments to the sun and the moon, have bigger stones with wider gaps between the stones and often have a recognisable entrance or two. henges have a bank and a ditch and one or two entrances and are generally large in diameter, with or without standing stones. causeways cross the ditch through the bank to gain access to the interior. if you are to follow up your theory with further research i think that you will have to concentrate on henges and causewayed enclosures only.

regards DD

On 2012-09-18 22:19, aknifethatfellfromthesky wrote:
hi sem, yes, indeed there are avenues to a number of circles on bodmin and dartmoor...i was 'painting the picture with a large brush'; still these avenues are of low stones, many are just a singular line of stones leading to taller terminating stone (sometimes referred to as a 'blocking stone') at the end/beginning. others are double, many again, displaying a taller blocking stone but there is still with not enough space between the two parallel lines of small stones to corral animals...some of these avenues can be over a Km long and are very often connected to a small circle or cist or ringcairn...i feel these circles and lines can be excluded from the OPs line of enquiry. furthermore, in all honesty, it doesn't make sense to erect stones when large tree trunks and fences would have been adequate to hold most trapped/hunted neolithic/bronze aged wild animals...the man hours involved in building a henge is so much greater than that to erect a timber stockade/trap that even this proposal is tenuous in my opinion...im beginning to come to the conclusion that the OPs post holds no water whatsoever.

regards, dean