bucket list

Maudi

this is a test..to see if i can post photos..boleycarrigean stone circle

SCOOP 64

upside down.

Maudi

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

upside down.

No!?

Aenaes

Looks fine to me.

SCOOP 64

Strange ,upside down when i click on it?

Arsemageddon

Boleycarrigean, Australia?

Maudi

Arsemageddon wrote: »

Boleycarrigean, Australia?

lol smart arse mageddon..of course not..boleycarrigean southwest wicklow ireland

cfuserkildare

Picture opens up fine for me,

Some ugly fecker on the right side of frame though.

slowburner

Maudi wrote: »

this is a test..to see if i can post photos..boleycarrigean stone circle

I am not entirely sure about the purpose of this thread, but anyway...
Here is a photo taken in the opposite direction. Sunset, close enough to the 2014 winter solstice.



If anyone plans to visit Boleycarrigeen, it's always worthwhile taking in the surrounding sights, like the cursus monument below the cairn on Keadeen's summit - a truly enigmatic monument amongst others not far away. The wider landscape is steeped in rich prehistory and mystique.

There is nothing to suggest that the cursus is aligned with the stone circle, by the way. We can tentatively use this as a diagnostic tool to argue that the two monuments must date from different periods. Boleycarrigeen is unquestionably Bronze Age, and it is highly probable that the cursus is earlier. Precisely how much earlier, is as yet unknown.

The Keadeen cursus viewed from below (close to Boleycarrigeen).
The monument consists of two parallel banks running down the mountainside. The terminus is not visible in these views, but it is there. Whether or not a terminus is a necessary feature of these upland monuments at all, is another day's work. Indeed, the merit of using the term cursus is, in my personal opinion, unhelpful to an understanding of these earthworks and an insight into their function or purpose.
The banks can be seen to the right of the fence dividing the mountain and the cairn is also visible at the summit.



The cursus viewed from the summit of Keadeen. Boleycarrigeen is in the roughly circular clearing in the isolated mature forestry, just left and above centre in the image.

Maudi

slowburner wrote: »

I am not entirely sure about the purpose of this thread, but anyway...
Here is a photo taken in the opposite direction. Sunset, close enough to the 2014 winter solstice.



If anyone plans to visit Boleycarrigeen, it's always worthwhile taking in the surrounding sights, like the cursus monument below the cairn on Keadeen's summit - a truly enigmatic monument amongst others not far away. The wider landscape is steeped in rich prehistory and mystique.

There is nothing to suggest that the cursus is aligned with the stone circle, by the way. We can tentatively use this as a diagnostic tool to argue that the two monuments must date from different periods. Boleycarrigeen is unquestionably Bronze Age, and it is highly probable that the cursus is earlier. Precisely how much earlier, is as yet unknown.

The Keadeen cursus viewed from below (close to Boleycarrigeen).
The monument consists of two parallel banks running down the mountainside. The terminus is not visible in these views, but it is there. Whether or not a terminus is a necessary feature of these upland monuments at all, is another day's work. Indeed, the merit of using the term cursus is, in my personal opinion, unhelpful to an understanding of these earthworks and an insight into their function or purpose.
The banks can be seen to the right of the fence dividing the mountain and the cairn is also visible at the summit.



The cursus viewed from the summit of Keadeen. Boleycarrigeen is in the roughly circular clearing in the isolated mature forestry, just left and above centre in the image.

I did notice these marks only fleetingly im afraid thinking they were water run off channels or just natural ragged turf..what tells us they are manmade? Are they unique to keadeen?also the other paler scrapings on the hillside have vaguely human shapes one like a hooded figure carrying a crook..

slowburner

Maudi wrote: »

I did notice these marks only fleetingly im afraid thinking they were water run off channels or just natural ragged turf..what tells us they are manmade? Are they unique to keadeen?also the other paler scrapings on the hillside have vaguely human shapes one like a hooded figure carrying a crook..

What tells us that they are man made, is that they were verified by two cold, wet, tired, and hungry people who climbed up there to assess the features. One of those people happened to be me, and I can assure you that they are man made.
'They' are not unique to Keadeen.
But it is a good question. The Keadeen feature was known about locally, but not examined until 2013. Since then, others have come to light. One of these was on the west facing slopes of Mount Leinster, and it too was known locally, but not verified until 2014 (by the same two masochists). It's known as the Cailín Slipes or Witch's Slide.
Two more, in the same class, were identified and verified in the past two years, and another two, in a potentially different class, have since been added to the growing list, by yours truly. That makes four upland cursús, one intermediate, and one lowland cursus found and verified in the past two years or so.
More will be found, I suspect.
In fact, it would be very helpful if people here were to keep an eye out while using the battery of aerial sources available today.
An article on cursús and recent discoveries was published in Archaeology Ireland relatively recently.

The other features you mention are entirely natural and known as 'Cuchullainn and his wife'. They are differential vegetation patterns formed by water run-off.

Mountainsandh

Hmmm, I read the article and never thought of checking my local mountains, duh. Will do.

slowburner

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Hmmm, I read the article and never thought of checking my local mountains, duh. Will do.

That would be great. The more sharp eyes, the better.

So far, the common characteristics seem to be as follows:
a very steep slope, though not sheer
On a promontory with excellent views of the lowlands, or clearly visible from the lowlands
Approximately west facing
Two banks between 15 and 30m apart
Overall length greater than 150m

Maudi

slowburner wrote: »

That would be great. The more sharp eyes, the better.

So far, the common characteristics seem to be as follows:
a very steep slope, though not sheer
On a promontory with excellent views of the lowlands, or clearly visible from the lowlands
Approximately west facing
Two banks between 15 and 30m apart
Overall length greater than 150m

Are the banks convex or concave?hard to make out exactly in pics..and any idea at all of their purpose?

cfuserkildare

Is it possible that the trenches we see are a local attempt similar to The White Horse of Uffington? or the few other geoglyphs? like those??
Would be cool if it was!

slowburner

Maudi wrote: »

Are the banks convex or concave?hard to make out exactly in pics..and any idea at all of their purpose?

No idea what their purpose was. One theory is that they may have acted as proving grounds for young athletes. A rite of passage, perhaps. This theory may have its roots in the original application of the term cursus, meaning racecourse.
I prefer the hunting theory, which proposes that animals were herded into the cursus as a corral.

cfuserkildare wrote: »

Is it possible that the trenches we see are a local attempt similar to The White Horse of Uffington? or the few other geoglyphs? like those??
Would be cool if it was!

Quite possibly.
In the case of one cursus at least, the stone fabric would have made a bright contrast against the mountainside, and would have been visible for miles.