Site Type: Stone Row
Irish Grid Ref: Q5223600058
Location: Link to Bing Maps
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| Ardamore Stone Row looking towards the west. |
Description:
This stone row is described on Archaeology.ie as follows;
"Situated on a generally W facing slope, commanding an extensive view over the Lispole valley and as far W as the Blasket Islands, this site is comprised of an alignment of 3 stones, 7.55m long, with an outlier standing 60m to NE.
The tallest stone, at the NE end of the line, stands 3m high and measures 1.7m x .4m at base. The middle stone, 1.38m further SW, is 2.2m high and 1.1m x .4m at base. The 3rd stone, 1.65m to SW again, is almost level with its neighbour and measures 1.3m x .5m at base. The alignment is orientated on the setting sun at the Winter Solstice (Lynch 1981b, 26).
The outlier stands 2.9m high and measures 2m x .58m at base; ENE-WSW. Its NW face bears a series of rock art motifs including a cup-and-2 circles centrally positioned on the face; below this are 2 cup-and-circles, and grouped together at the base of the stone are 2 cup-and-circles with radial lines, and a cup-and-incomplete circle. In addition there are 7 plain cup-marks and a series of linear grooves (the dotted lines on the drawing represent uncertain markings).
Immediately NW of this stone, a large boulder resting on 3 smaller ones was removed to make way for a track (local information). Based on the description and the context it is suggested that this feature was a boulder-dolmen; it is not unusual for such monuments to occur in close proximity to isolated or pairs of standing stones, although none have previously been recorded in association with a stone alignment (Ó Nualláin 1978a, 75-114)."
This alignment was first proposed by Lynch as per the archaeology.ie description above. It appears from the videos below that people in the locality (and further afield) now meet here each year to view the alignment. The stone row itself is interesting in that it has been inscribed with rock-art. The number of stone rows with rock-art in Ireland is very small as far as I know and this must be of significance.
Scottish Archaeoastronomer Douglas Scott looked at this via a remote survey and also thinks that the southern major standstill full moon will set on the horizon above the three stones around midsummer.
Links to photographs;
Picture of Ardamore Stone Row by www.themodernantiquarian.com contributor Michael Mitchell
Links for further information;
Link to video on youtube of the alignment produced by Brenda O' Shea/ Inside Ireland Production
Link to video on youtube of the alignment made by Ciara McKenna
Link to video on youtube of a report by TG4 on the alignment in 2011
