Beltany Stone Circle, 21 Nov 2022 Short v1

The full video is available on YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3LK8Pwfils&ab_channel=AidanD...

 

Beltany is a Bronze Age stone circle just south of Raphoe town (Irish: Ráth Bhoth which means 'Ringfort of the Huts') in County Donegal, Ireland. It's estimated to have been constructed approximately 5000 years ago based on recent archeological research funded by the Irish Heritage Council. Dating Beltany from about 3000 BC makes this monument older than Stonehenge and the the Egyptian pyramids (some published sources conversely date the construction of the stone circle at between 1300 and 800 BC).

 

There is evidence that it may also have been the sacred site of Neolithic monuments, possibly early passage tombs. The stunning panoramic view from Beltany is inspiring it overlooks the now destroyed passage tomb complex at Kilmonaster with its cluster of a dozen monuments. Beltany is also dominated by Croaghan Hill (Cruachán) 217m (712Ft) to the east on the summit of which there sits a Neolithic mound most likely a passage tomb (though never excavated) The cairn is situated within a hillfort enclosure which is approximately 85m (278Ft) in diameter, where in legend the warrior Itha, the uncle of Milesius, the first of Ireland’s legendary invaders, was laid to rest in this passage tomb on its summit after he was killed in the Battle of Magh Itha, the initial foray against the Tuatha De Danaan.

 

The enigmatic stone circle is situated on the summit of Tops Hill 170m (350Ft) the circle having a diameter of 44.2m (145Ft), a circumference of 137m (449Ft) with 64 stones, ranging in height from 0.3m (1Ft) to 2.7m (9Ft), although there were probably about 15 to 20 more stones originally, 80 in total. Enclosing an earthen platform the centre has been greatly disturbed and most likely the result of unscientific attempts at excavation by locals or for available loose stones to build farm buildings and field walls. This evidence was provided orally and recorded in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1836 where it states, 'locals recalled the removal of vast heaps of stone

and sepulchral type graves with bones'. If the center of the stone circle once held a cairn or passage tomb, then the stones of the circle may be considered remnants of

the tomb’s kerb.

 

The name of the site strongly points to an association with the Celtic cross-quarter day of Lá Bealtaine, which is halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. In ancient Ireland, the Celtic Year was dominated by four key festivals of Samhain, Beltane, Imbolg and Lughnasadh.

The winter half of the year began with the feast of Samhain, which was on 1st November and marked the end of harvest, it was a forerunner of Halloween. The summer half of the year commenced with Beltane which was on 1st May (the actual astronomical event is normally a few days later). Imbolg was on the 1st February and marked the start of Spring, while Lughnasadh (also known as Lammaswas) on 1st August and marked the beginning of the harvest season.

 

The Irish name Beltene has been interpreted as 'bel' probably meaning ‘shining, brilliant’ while 'tene' is the word for ‘fire’. The 1st of May was sacred to Beltene, one of the names of the god of Death who gives life to men and takes it away from them again.

 

The lighting of bonfires on hilltops was an important part of Beltane rituals. One ancient Beltane custom saw cattle being driven ceremoniously between two fires, a symbolic act of purification and fertility before they were driven to their summer pastures. People jumped through the flames and danced around the fire. House fires were extinguished and later re-lit from the Beltane flames. It was thought that these rituals were a means of guaranteeing protection and success of the new year’s harvest.

 

Daniel Collins in his 17 December 2015 Article “The Beltany Stone Circle” stated: "According to the 17th-century historian Geoffrey Keating, cattle, which were a primary food source for the pastoral Celts, were, along with other domestic animals, driven between these fires so as to destroy any ticks, parasites and vermin they might potentially have been carrying; it was hoped this would have ensured the animals’ protection against possible future disease."

 

Of course, the ancient Beltane festival survives now as 'May Day', but its origins lie in the pagan past of the Celtic world and is wrapped up in the fascinating world of Irish mythology and folklore. May Day has historically been widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man as a fiest day. In Irish the name for the festival day is Lá Bealtaine, in Scottish Gaelic Là Bealltainn and in Manx Gaelic Laa Boaltinn/Boaldyn.

 

Several stones are cupmarked, one in particular, the triangle stone at North East is decorated with circular incisions or cup marks visible to naked eye. Other stones have what appears to be replicated star constellations. The heavy stones on North West lean outwards possibly from pressure from the earlier debris and boulders or due to depletion of the earthen bank.

 

About 21m (69ft) a solitary ‘outlier’ stone about 1.9m (6' 3") high standing to the southeast of the circle. It probably had some function related to the rituals or ceremonies in the circle, or it may be one of the several line standing stones found in fields around the slopes of Tops hill and valley.

Irish archarcoligist Henry Boyle Townshend Somerville (b.1863 d.1936) suggests an alignment with a promiment stone in the north western part of the circle, the extended diameter from which passes through this 'outlier' stone and onto the point of 'sunrise on the day of the winter solstice'.

Perhaps the most significant alignment is the 1.4m (4.5ft) tall triangular stone to the ENE that contains a significant number of cupmarks. This stone has an alignment with the tallest stone, in the WSW of the circle, and with the Bealtaine sunrise (6th May) as it rises over the hill of Tullyrap (Tulaigh Rap) 39m (128Ft), some 8km (5 miles) away.

 

A rather horrific-looking carved stone head, only 255mm (10in) tall is believed to have come from lands around Beltany and thought to have functioned as either a mask or a mould from which ceremonial masks were fashioned in bronze or even gold. It is now held in the vaults at the National Museum in Dublin, unfortunatelly not on display. These megaliths indicate that this landscape was marked out and used as a sacred and ritual site for several millennia. A replica of the Beltany Stone Head is located in Donegal County Museum, Letterkenny and is one of seven stone heads (collectively known as the ‘Raphoe Group’) that were found in the area.

 

While Etienne Rynne (b.1932 d.2012) an Irish archaeologist was inspecting some stone heads in St Johnston, officially Saint Johnstown (Irish: Baile Suingean) in County Donegal when he was informed of some other head that had been built into a garden wall at a house in the townland of Woodlands, Feddyglass, in Civil Parish of Taughboyne about 2 miles north east of Raphoe. On a visit to the house he discovered two stone busts built to the front garden wall and a third, at the back of the house built into the top of a garden post. All three bust were acquired by the National Museum of Ireland.

The 1st is a large bust 52.5cm overall height with three faces, the material identified by Professor James Brindley is coal measure sandstone very similar to that which occurs in South Donegal and Tyrone. The 2nd stone head is 42.5cm high, the face 23cm long and 18cm wide. Unfortunately the nose had been badly damaged some years erlier by some children using the head as a target for stone-throwing. The material is similar to that of the 1st head, coal measure sandstone.

The 3rd head which is the smallest bust and is 23.5cm overall hight, face 14cm long by 13.5cm wide. The material is Metamorphic schist as ocurres widely in the highlands

of Co. Donegal and in Co. Derry. The thin mouth widens in an "O" as if the subject was whistling. This may be a secondary feature, as years ago it was customary to place a clay pipe in the mouth of this head and to stick a cow's tail across the upper lip as a moustache. This bust was locally known as "The Sailor"

According to local tradition all these heads were carved by one of the Gordons, a somewhat eccentric family of fiddlers of local renowned who lived in the house during the last century. It's doubtful if this tradition is true unless possibly for "The Sailor" and indeed it is more likely that the Gordons may have discovered the busts and claimed them as their own work. The material of the two larger busts being foreign to the immediate locality would disagree with tradidition that they were made by the Gordons, alough this would not hold true for "The Sailor", as its material is of a local stone.

 

During the 1960s two stone axe heads, were found at the site by the landowner, Mr. Thomas Eaton. The smaller of the two heads (Fig. 1A) was found a short distance off the western edge of the circle, a poished blackish stone identified as metamorphic rock. It is slender with a thick, rounded cross-section, the cutting edge is almost straight, the butt being slightly damaged. It is 83mm long, 31mm wide at the cutting edge, 18mm at the butt and 26mm maximum thickness.

The large of the two axe heads (Fig. 1B) was found while digging in a field about 365m (1197ft) to the North East of the stone circle. It is of polished grey stone and has been identified as Tievebulliagh porcellanite. It is 175mm long, 72mm wide at the cutting edge, 53mm at the butt and 43mm maximum thickness. Tievebulliagh (from Irish: Taobh Builleach) is a 402m (1,319Ft) high mountain, about 4.4 km (2.7 miles) from Cushendall in the Glens of Antrim. At it's foot, evidence has been found of a Neolithic axe quarry. Flint axe heads fashioned from porcellanite that originate from this quarry have been found across the British Isles. It was here that the axes were roughed out before being finished at the sea shore, they were then exported as far afield as south-east England, north-east Scotland and all parts of Ireland. No finished axes

have been found at the Cushendall site itself.

 

Adding to the atmosphere of this stone circle, to the southwest are the remains of a circular earthen enclosure, some 35m (115Ft) in diameter. Early maps noted this as

an “Old Graveyard,” but its actual origin is a mystery.

 

In 2005 the Beltany Stone Circle became the focus of the community when the group 'Raphoe Community in Action' organized a conference in the town's cathedral hall called

“Rediscovering an Ancient Landscape.” A number of notable archaeologists as well as local historians and wildlife experts joined some 300 locals, over a three-day programme of events. Dr. Brian Lacey, CEO of the Discovery Programme, who has studied Celtic Archaeology and Medieval Irish History at University College Dublin read the landscape in the context of myth, history, Cenel Conaill and the nearby Kilmonaster complex. Kevin Barton who has over 25 years experience in managing and conducting geophysical surveys explained the astronomical alignment. Research prompted by this conference provided evidence dating the stone circle to around 3,000 BCE (before the common (or current) era), adding some weight to the theory that it represents the ruins of a burial mound or passage tomb. But perhaps of greater significance to the local community, the conference served to reinforce the local identity after their intense interaction in these few days involved in the ancient past and who may have previously felt that archaeology and heritage were confined only to the academics but discovered that we all have a share in the legacy of the past.

 

Directions:

Find your way to Raphoe town (rather than Beltany Stone Circle) and you’ll have no trouble finding the stone circle.

It's about 2.5km (1.5miles) to the circle from the Diamond in Raphoe R236 (town square), turn sharp left onto the Guesthouse End road which runs past Raphoe Library

(on your right) heading south, follow the brown heritage "Beltany Stone Circle" signs, after about 300m take a left at the Y-junction onto the Raphoe Townsparks road.

After about 120m take a right (un-named road). After about 1.97km (1 mile), you come to a sign posted Y-junction take the right heading to the Department of Agriculture,

Food & Marine (Tops Farm). Park here, there's a tree lined boreen (towpath). Follow the path up a gentle incline about 400 meters. At the top there's and a kissing gate

which provides access into a field (along with a heritage information sign), the circle is immediately infront of you.

 

Latitude: 54° 51′ 1.50″ N

Longitude: 7° 36′ 16.80″ W

 

Done