Places to see in ( Lochgilphead - UK )
Places to see in ( Lochgilphead - UK )
Lochgilphead is a town and former burgh in Argyll and Bute, West of Scotland, with a population of around 2,300 people. It is the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute. The village lies at the end of Loch Gilp (a branch of Loch Fyne) and lies on the banks of the Crinan Canal. Lochgilphead sits on the A83 road, with Ardrishaig 2 miles to the south and Inveraray 24 miles to the north-east; Oban lies 37 miles north on the A816.
The council is based at Kilmory Castle, around which is located a woodland park and an Iron Age fort. The Forestry Commission also have an office there. Lochgilphead's facilities include a swimming pool, sports centre, fishing tackle shop, three banks, supermarket, two petrol stations, three homewear and hardware shops Renault dealership, a community hospital run by the local GPs, psychiatric hospital, 9-hole golf course, bowling club, a hydrotherapy pool, a regional landfill site at Dunchologan and Lochgilphead High School. The town is home to shinty team Kilmory Camanachd and football team, Lochgilphead Red Star.
As a planned settlement, Lochgilphead was created in 1790, shortly after the completion of a road from Inveraray to Campbeltown. After the completion of the Crinan Canal in 1801, the town became more important as a link across the Kintyre peninsula. The town was linked to Oban, when a road was completed in 1830. In 1831 a pier was built, helping to link Lochgilphead with Glasgow and other major towns. In 1975 Lochgilphead was chosen as the administrative headquarters of the Argyll and Bute District Council as part of local government reorganisation, due to its central location. In the nearby Kilmartin Glen is a large number of Neolithic remains, including cup and ring marks.
In July 1982, Lochgilphead competed against teams from Perth and Oban in the then highly popular BBC Television It's a Knockout, presented by Stuart Hall. The town's team won their round and later competed in the international version of the series, 'Jeux Sans Frontieres', which was recorded in Switzerland.
The town annually hosts the Dalriada Provincial Mod each September. The event is a Gaelic festival organised by the local branch of An Comunn Gàidhealach. Lochgilphead hosts The Mid-Argyll Agricultural Show, which is a major event held annually on the second Saturday in August.
( Lochgilphead - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Lochgilphead . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Lochgilphead - UK
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Achnabreck Rock Carvings, Part 2, Kilmartin, Scotland.
A Journey Through Scotland's Ancient Sites
Before Caledonia YouTube
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ACHNABRECK
ROCK ART, PART 2
LOCHGILPHEAD
ARGYLL & BUTE
SCOTLAND
ONE HUNDERED AND FIFTY METERS FROM THE MAIN ACHNABRECK ENCLOSURE IS A SECOND SITE. JUST A FEW MILES NORTH OF LOCHGILPHEAD AND A SHORT WALK INTO KILMICHAEL FOREST, IS THE MOST CELEBRATED PREHISTORIC, ROCK CARVINGS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. THE SITE OFFERS BEAUTIFUL SOUTHERN SCENERY TOWARDS LOCH GILP.
THIS FENCED OFF AREA HAS SIXTY THREE MOTIFS WITH AT LEAST FIFTEEN MULTIPLE RINGS, ONE IS A FIVE RING SYMBOL. OUR NEOLITHIC ANCESTORS, CREATED CARVED CIRCULAR SHAPES ON EXPOSED ROCK SURFACES. INTENTIONALLY OR UNINTENTIONALLY THE ROCK CARVINGS HAVE LASTED FIVE MILLENIA.
THE ANCIENT INHABITANTS OF ARGYLL AND BUTE LEFT BEHING A VAST MEGALITHIC LEGACY FROM DEEP ANTIQUITY. THEY USED STANDING STONES AND NATURAL OUTCROPS AND DECORATED THEM WITH PECULIAR CIRCULAR DESIGNS.
THE BEST TIME TO VIEW THE GLYPHS IS WHEN THE SUN IS LOW OR WHEN WET AFTER RAIN FALL. ONE HUNDRED ROCK ART SITES ARE WITHIN A FEW MILES OF ACHNABRECK.
THE PETROGLYPHS SEEM TO BE LOCATED AT PROMINENT LOCATIONS IN THE LANDSCAPE. ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND COMPLICATED GLYPHS APPEAR AT IMPORTANT LOCATIONS ON THE LAND, LIKE BOUNDARIES AND ROUTES.
HUGO ANDERSON-WHYMARK, A RESEARCHER. CARVED OUT HOLLOWS AND FOUND IT TOOK HIM BETWEEN HALF AN HOUR AND ONE AND A HALF HOURS. HIS TOOLS WERE HAMMERSTONES MADE OF QUARTZ. THESE SAME TOOLS WERE FOUND DURING EXCAVATION, TWO AND A HALF MILES AWAY, AT TORBHLAREN ROCK ART SITE.
THEORIES ARE RIFE ON THE MEANING OF THE SYMBOLS. A FEW EXAMPLES ARE STAR MAPS OR VESSELS FOR CASTING AND MIXING BRONZE. OTHER ROCK ART SITES CLOSE BY WITH PUBLIC ACCESS, ARE CAIRNBANN, KILMICHAEL GLASSERY AND BALUACHRAIG. THE ANCIENT SEAT OF THE SCOTTISH KINGS IS AT DUNADD FORT WHICH IS ALSO VERY NEAR BY.
A QUOTE FROM HEHAKA SAPA, A NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN, SAYS’
“THE POWER OF THE WORLD ALWAYS WORKS IN CIRCLES, AND EVERYTHING TRIES TO BE ROUND. IN THE OLD DAYS … ALL OUR POWER CAME TO US FROM THE SACRED HOOP OF THE NATION AND SO LONG AS THE HOOP WAS UNBROKEN THE PEOPLE FLOURISHED.”
HEHAKA SAPA, NORTH AMERICAN OGLALA SIOUX.
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS.
Kilmartin Grave Slabs Church Glen Argyll Scotland UK
Sept 2014
Kilmartin to Oban, along the historic road 28/05/2017
Kilmartin Glen is an area in Argyll not far from Kintyre, which has one of the most important concentrations of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains in Scotland. The glen is located between Oban and Lochgilphead, surrounding the village of Kilmartin.
There are more than 350 ancient monuments within a six-mile radius of the village, with 150 of them being prehistoric. Monuments include standing stones, a henge monument, numerous cists, and a linear cemetery comprising five burial cairns. Several of these, as well as many natural rocks, are decorated with cup and ring marks.
The remains of the fortress of the Scots at Dunadd, a royal centre of Dal Riata, are located to the south of the glen, on the edge of the Moine Mhòr or Great Moss. The Kilmartin House Museum of Ancient Culture is located within the village itself, and aims to interpret the rich history of the glen.
Kilmartin Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The present church building was designed by architect James Gordon Davis and opened in 1835, though there had been earlier churches on the site. The churchyard has an important collection of early Christian and medieval carved stones, known as the Kilmartin Stones. Some are displayed within the parish church itself, others have been gathered into lapidaria within the graveyard, others still remain lying within it.
The two most important monuments are the Kilmartin crosses, one 9th-10th century, the other late medieval in date, within the church. In the churchyard are a large collection of late medieval gravestones in the 'West Highland' style, dating between the 14th and early 16th centuries. Many are marked by figures of warriors in contemporary dress with spears and swords, along with figures of fantastic animals, foliage and interlace patterns. None are inscribed, so the identities of the persons commemorated are unknown. They can, however, be taken to be the monuments of the local landowning or minor noble class in late medieval times. Kilmartin Church was evidently an important burial site, and the graveslabs of the 'Loch Awe school' of carving may have been carved in a workshop at or near Kilmartin. The swords shown on many of the stones refer to warrior (or, more broadly, social) status, and have no connection with the Templars or other medieval military orders, as is sometimes suggested. Women are commemorated on some of the stones, their symbol often being the shears (referring to household activities).
Cairnbaan Rock Art, Part 2, Kilmartin, Scotland.
A Journey Through Scotland's Ancient Sites
Before Caledonia YouTube
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CAIRNBAAN
ROCK ART, PART 2
LOCHGILPHEAD
ARGYLL & BUTE
SCOTLAND
CLOSE TO THE FAMOUS ACHNABRECK ROCK ART AND A FEW MILES FROM LOCHGILPHEAD IS CAIRNBAAN INSCRIBED ROCKS. HERE IS TWO SITES BOTH IN THE CARE OF HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND. THE BEST TIME TO VIEW THE GLYPHS IS WHEN THE SUN IS SETTING LOW.
ONE HUNDERED METERS FROM THE ENCLOSED SITE IS AN EXTREMELY WELL PRESERVE ROCK SHEET. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST OUTCROPS TO VIEW ANCIENT GLYPHS NOT ONLY IN THE KILMARTIN AREA BUT SCOTLAND. STRANGELY THIS EXPOSED ROCK IS NOT ENCLOSED.
THE PETROGLYPHS ARE VERY CLEAR. TWENTY NINE DESIGN SYMBOLS WERE CARVED ONTO A ROCK PANEL. FROM THIS LOCATION IS BEAUTIFUL VIEWS TO A ONCE IMPORTANT ROUTE INTO KILMARTIN GLEN. EXPANSIVE LANDSCAPE VIEWS FROM ROCK ART SITES IS A COMMON THEME.
THE LARGE MOTIFS SEEM TO BE IN CLUSTERS OF THREE, HERE WE ALSO HAVE INTERLOCKING, CONJOINED DESIGNS WHICH IS UNUSUAL. AT ACHNABRECK THE CARVINGS ONLY SLIGHTLY TOUCH. THERE IS ALSO A POSSIBLE STAR DESIGN. KILMARTIN HAS THE DENSEST AREA IN THE UK FOR ANCIENT PETROGLYPHS.
THESE ENIGMATIC GLYPHS ARE THOUGHT TO BE FIVE THOUSAND YEARS OLD. YOU CAN ALSO FIND SIMILAR CARVINGS ON STANDING STONES AT BALLYMEANOCH AND THE GREAT X OF KILMARTIN. BOTH THESE SITES ARE NOT FAR AWAY.
THEORIES ON THE MEANING OF THE CARVINGS ARE IMAGES OF RIPPLES MADE BY RAIN DROPS, OR A MONUMENT TO COMMEMORATE THE DEAD. IN 1830, ARCHIBALD CURRIE, A SCHOOL MASTER WAS THE FIRST TO WRITE ABOUT THE CAIRNBAAN ROCK ART. HIS THEORY WAS THE CIRCLES MAY REPRESENT ORBITS OF PLANETS, AROUND THE SUN.
SIMILAIR DESIGNS ARE FOUND ALONG THE ATLANTIC FRINGE. OUR ANCESTORS IN THE KILMARTIN AREA, WERE BUSY CREATING STRUCTURES WHICH STILL EXSIST AND WE CAN VISIT IN THE PRESENT DAY. CHECK OUT AUTHOR DAVID COWAN, WHO HAS DONE FASCINATING RESEARCH INTO ROCK ART IN THE PERTH AND KINROSS AREA.
A BIG THANKS TO OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS.
Rock Art - Cup & Ring Marks | Cairnbaan
Leacan nam Sluagh - The Stone of Hosting.
Footage of the western outcrop found at Cairnbaan.
The monument consists of prehistoric rock art carved on two areas of outcropping bedrock, about 100m apart. The area to the E contains three carved rock outcrops adjacent to each other, while the area to the W comprises a single, carved rock panel lying flush with the ground. The rock art was created probably in the early prehistoric period, between about 3500 BC and 2500 BC. The monument lies at around 60m above sea level on relatively flat ground part way up slopes that form the W side of the valley of the Badden Burn. Today the rock outcrops lie in thinned plantation woodland, but originally (in the absence of trees) this site would have offered views to Lochgilphead and the sea to the SE, over Crinan Moss, and to the valley bottom to the S where Cairnbaan lies today.
The rock outcrops form two groups, which differ in style. The easternmost comprises three substantial outcrops, adjacent to each other and now enclosed by metal railings. The largest decorated rock panel measures approximately 8m by 2m. It is decorated with a pair of cups surrounded by three partial rings, one cup with two rings, three cups within a single ring, sixteen single cups with single rings, at least sixty plain cups, and several lengths of grooving. A particular feature of this sheet is the long gutters that run downslope from seven of the cups at the S end of the outcrop. The other two outcrops measure 3.5m by 2m and 2.6m by 2m. Their carvings comprise mainly plain cupmarks: six on the outcrop towards the centre of the enclosure; and three cups with double rings and six plain cups on the outcrop at the NW of the enclosure. The panel located around 100m to the W measures 2m by 3m and is not enclosed by railings. It is decorated with a complex series of markings, the most distinctive of which are a number of conjoined multiple-ringed cups. Six of these are surrounded by four rings, one by three rings, seven by two rings, and eight by single rings; several of the ringed cups have gutters. There are also at least fifteen plain cups and stretches of wandering grooves. At the bottom right of the outcrop is a badly weathered, unusual carving, consisting of a broad shallow cup surrounded by a single ring, which is linked to the cup by a series of rays.
The area to be scheduled consists of two distinct polygons. The easternmost is a trapezium shape on plan and contains the area enclosed by the metal railings and 15m beyond the railings on all sides. The second is a circle, 20m in diameter, centred on the westernmost outcrop. These areas include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduled area specifically excludes the above-ground elements of the metal railings and interpretation board to allow for their maintenance.
Other carved rock outcrops around Kilmartin Glen include:
Ballygowan
Baluachraig
Achnabreac
Kilmichael Glassary
Other monuments include:
Dùn Ad Hill Fort
Dunchraigaig Cairn
Glebe Cairn
Nether Largie North Cairn
Nether Largie Mid Cairn
Nether Largie South Cairn
Ri-Cruin Cairn
Temple Wood Stone Circle
Soundtrack: Dál - August Wind (soundcloud.com/dalcelticmusic)
Argyll and Bute Year of Young People 2018
Argyll and Bute young people celebrated YOYP2018 by celebrating Argyll and Bute as a great place to live and grow up with a range of events and activities; we made this film to give you a taste of some of these.
Nether Largie Standing Stones Kilmartin Glen Argyll Scotland
Nether Largie Standing Stones Kilmartin Glen Argyll Scotland
Kilmartin Glen is packed full of ancient archaeological sites. This is just one of the many stone circles, burial cairns etc which can all be visited in a day, preferably two.
Kilmartin Glen is often described as Britain's richest archaeological landscape.
bonniescotlandtours.com
Scottish Castle - Baluachraig Rock Art - Kilmartin Glen
Myself and some friends are trying to visit all the castles throughout Scotland, with some historical sites from Standing stones to Monuments. If it is a medieval ruin we will try and visit.
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Vacation Rentals in Inverness United Kingdom
Somerset Hoa Binh
Indulge in the excellent quality, spacious comfort and convenience of Somerset Hoa Binh serviced residence. It is located within a mixed development of retail, residential and office towers for optimum convenience. Designed to accommodate the needs of the international executive and family on business travel, leisure vacation or relocation, the residence offers an extensive range of business and recreational services and facilities.
River Walk Cottage
Daly Street, Auburn (Australia), Australia
Apartments 207 & 306 By the Bridge Inverness
Tucked right into the heart of the city, the Apartments 207 & 306 By the Bridge Inverness is an ideal accommodation in Inverness for leisure or business travelers. It is within walking distance of Eastgate Shopping Center and the famous Victorian Market, and the Inverness Railway Station is just a few minutes by foot as well. The Ness Walk, Eden Court Theater, Inverness Cathedral and the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery are all directly across the river from the grounds too. The Apartments 207 & 306 By the Bridge Inverness is located at Bridge Street Apartments which is 10.1 miles from Inverness Airport.
Bellplot House Hotel
The Bellplot House Hotel is perfectly located for both business and leisure guests to Chard. The Bellplot House Hotel boasts a convenient location with modern amenities in every guestroom and superb service. The guestrooms are equipped with daily newspaper, desk, hair dryer, ironing board, television.
Gask House Farm Cottages
The hotel's garden offers peace and quiet to sit down and relax. Wireless internet is available throughout the hotel, ensuring you'll have no trouble remaining connected while on the road. Loch Ruthven, Culloden Battlefield and Inverness Museum and Art Gallery are within a 20 minute drive from the hotel.
Prehistoric Rock Art, Achnabreck, KIlmartin, Scotland
One of the best such sites in Britain. An outcrop of ice-smoothed rock which features many carvings the most prevalent of which is a cup at the centre of concentric rings, with the cup acting as a centre for radial grooves and ducts that generally follow the rock downhill.
Nether Largie Mid Cairn, Kilmartin, Scotland.
A Journey Through Scotland's Ancient Sites
Before Caledonia YouTube
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NETHER LARGIE
MID CAIRN
KILMARTIN
ARGYLL & BUTE
SCOTLAND
NETHER LARGIE MID CAIRN, IS THE HEART OF THE LINEAR CEMETERY ON KILMARTIN GLEN. FIVE CAIRNS OUT OF SIX PRESENTLY REMAIN. THIS LOCATION ON THE WEST COAST IS NOT JUST AN IMPORTANT SCOTTISH PREHISTORIC AREA, BUT ONE OF THE FINEST IN EUROPE. KILMARTIN VALLEY IS A MUST VISIT FOR ANY LEVEL OF HISTORIAN. THE CAIRNS ARE IN THE CARE OF HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND.
WITHIN A SIX MILE AREA IS MORE THAN EIGHT HUNDRED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES, KILMARTIN MUSEUMS SURVEY WORK, HAS HELPED IDENTIFY THESE FEATURES. OUR NEOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE ANCESTORS WERE EXTREMELY BUSY CREATING, ROCK ART, STANDING STONES, STONE CIRCLES AND CAIRNS IN THIS LANDSCAPE WHICH THEY HELD DEAR.
WHEN THE NEOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE FINISHED THE CLIMATE BECAME COOL AND WET. THE KILMARTIN VALLEY AND ITS PREHISTORIC REMAINS WERE BLANKETED WITH PEAT UNTIL THE 1800S (LIKE CALLANISH ON THE ISLE OF LEWIS). VAST QUANTITIES OF PEAT HAD BEEN STRIPPED AWAY FOR FARMING AND FULE, THIS IS WHEN THE CAIRNS CAME TO LIGHT.
MOST OF THE CAIRNS WERE DEPLETED BY STONE REMOVAL FOR ROADS, DYKES AND FIELD DRAINS. SOME OF THE NETHER LARGIE MID CAIRN MATERIAL WAS LOST TO THIS. PRESENTLY THE CAIRN IS 1M, HIGH ORIGINALLY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN 3M. A CAIRN ONCE EXISTED BETWEEN NETHER LARGIE MID AND SOUTH, WHICH WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED IN THE 1880S.
FROM NETHER LARGIE MID IS THE BEST VIEWING LOCATION OF THE 1.5 MILE LONG LINER CEMETERY, WHICH WAS IN USE FROM 3000BC TO 1500BC. TO THE SOUTH IS NETHER LARGIE SOUTH WHICH IS THE OLDEST CAIRN AND RI CRUIN. TO THE NORTH IS NETHER LARGIE NORTH AND GLEB CAIRN, WHICH IS SITUATED BESIDE KILMARTIN MUSEUM.
THE CIST IN THE SOUTHERN ARC IS INTERESTING AS IT HAS A FAINT AXE HEAD CARVING AND A SINGLE CUP MARK, ON ONE OF THE END SLABS. IT IS THOUGHT THESE AXE CARVING REPRESENT A PERSON OF WEALTH, WHO POSSIBLY WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE MOVEMENT OF METAL FROM IRELAND THROUGH KILMARTIN, UP TO THE NORTH EAST OF SCOTLAND’S BRONZE WORK CENTRES.
BETTER EXAMPLES OF AXE CARVINGS CAN BE SEEN AT RI CRUIN. CUP MARK DESIGNS ARE MORE CLEAR AT NETHER LARGIE NORTH. THE SOUTH CIST CAPSTONE IS NOW SUPPORTED BY MODERN STEEL BARS TO ALLOW VIEWING INTO THE INTERIOR. A NORTH ARC CIST EXISTED, BUT WAS REMOVED AND IS NOW MARKED BY SHORT CONCRETE POSTS.
IN 1929 AN EXCAVATION TOOK PLACE BY JAMES HEWAT CRAW AN ARCHAEOLOGIST. HE FOUND TWO EMPTY CISTS BELOW THE BRONZE AGE CAIRN. THE ACIDIC SOIL HAD DISSOLVED THE BODIES. EACH CIST HAD BEEN DESIGNED TO BURY AN ELITE INDIVIDUAL, 4000 YEARS AGO. THE CAIRN HAS A DIAMETER OF 33M WITH THE OUTER KERB STONES MOST NOTICEABLE, IN THE SOUTH ARC.
INSIDE THE CAIRN BODY A STONE WITH FIVE CUP MARKS WAS FOUND. IN THE 1990S AN AVENUE OF HUGE WOODEN POSTS WERE DISCOVERED WHICH DATED TO 3,700BC. A TIMBER CIRCLE WAS ALSO FOUND WHICH WAS BRONZE AGE. BOTH THESE DISCOVERIES WERE FOUND AT THE GRAVEL TERRACE, AT UPPER LARGIE, WHICH OVERLOOKS THE GLEB CAIRN. THIS SITE WAS THEN QUARRIED AWAY.
A BIG THANKS TO OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS.
Nether Largie Standing Stones, Kilmartin, Scotland.
A Journey Through Scotland's Ancient Sites
Before Caledonia YouTube
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NETHER LARGIE
STANDING STONES
KILMARTIN
ARGYLL & BUTE
SCOTLAND
INTRO
THE NETHER LARGIE STANDING STONES WERE QUOTED BY ALEXANDER THOM, AS THE ‘MOST IMPORTANT LUNAR OBSERVATORY IN BRITAIN’. SITUATED SOUTH OF KILMARTIN, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ONE MILE LINE OF BURIAL CAIRNS. THE MEGALITHS ARE IN THE CARE OF HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND AND PARKING IS PROVIDED AT LADY GLASSERY WOOD.
OVER VIEW
FIVE BEAUTIFUL MEGALITHS MAKE UP THE X SHAPED NETHER LARGIE STANDING STONES SITE. TO THE SOUTH IS A SET OF MEGALITHS WHICH RESEMBLE A GATEWAY. AS YOU WALK NORTH YOU WILL COME TO A SMALL, BOX SHAPED, FOUR STONE SETTING.
JUST BEYOND THIS IS A SECOND FOUR STONE SETTING WHICH CONTAINS THE CENTRAL MEGALITH. THIS STANDING STONE IS COVERED IN ANCIENT CUP MARKS THAT RESEMBLE CIRCULAR DEPRESSIONS, THREE CUPS ARE ENCLOSED BY A RING.
IN THE YOUTUBE DOCUMENTARY ‘CRACKING THE STONE AGE CODE’ THERE IS FOOTAGE OF ARCHAEOASTRONOMER ALEXANDER THOM, AT THE CENTRAL MEGALITH EXPLAINING THE TOP OF THE STONE POINTS TO A NOTCH IN THE HILL WHERE THE MOON SETS AT THE NORTH WEST ON ITS MOST NORTHERN EXTREME POSITION.
PROFESSOR THOM ALSO FOUND ALIGNMENTS WITH THE STONES AND THE NEARBY TEMPLE WOOD CIRCLES. THE NETHER LARGIE MEGALITHS NO DOUBT HOLD MANY MORE SECRETS WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY COME TO FUTURE LIGHT.
IN RECENT YEARS ANALYSIS SUPPORTS THE THEORY THE MEGALITHS WERE POSITIONED TO LUNAR RISE AND SETS AT IMPORTANT TIMES IN ITS 18.61 YEAR CYCLE. AS YOU WALK NORTH, BEYOND THE CENTRAL STONE IS ANOTHER PAIR OF BEAUTIFUL MEGALITHS.
STONES
OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS ALIGNED THESE 3M HIGH MEGALITHS TO THE EQUINOXES WHICH FALL ON MARCH 20TH AND SEPTEMBER 23RD. THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN NIGHT AND DAY ARE AT EQUAL LENGTH.
THERE IS ALSO AN ALIGNMENT TO THE WINTER SOLSTICE SUNRISE (THIS ALSO HAPPENS AT THE NEARBY BALLYMEANOCH STONES) THIS DATE FALLS ON DECEMBER 21ST. THIS IS THE DARKEST DAY OF THE YEAR.
THESE SOLSTICES AND EQUINOX EVENTS WERE OF UPMOST IMPORTANCE TO OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS. THEY WERE NO DOUBT SKILLED IN LEARNING THE NATURAL MOVEMENTS OF THE CELESTIAL BODIES.
OUR ANCIENT PREDECESSORS WOULD HAVE CAREFULLY CHOSEN THIS LOCATION ON KILMARTIN GLEN FOR ITS LANDSCAPE AND OBSERVATION FEATURES.
A SMALL OUTLINER STONE CAN BE SEEN ONE HUNDERED METERS TO THE NORTH. ANOTHER OUTLINER ONCE STOOD TO THE WEST, THREE HUNDERED METERS AWAY WHICH IS NO LONGER VISIBLE.
OTHER INFO
IT IS THOUGHT THE STANDING STONES WERE ERECTED ABOUT 1,200BC WHICH WOULD MAKE THEM BRONZE AGE. THE CENTRAL STONE CUP MARKS ARE THOUGHT TO BE OLDER BY 1,500 YEARS, WHICH MAY INDICATE THE STANDING STONE WAS ORIGINALLY PART OF A DECORATED OUTCROP LIKE CAIRNBANN IN ITS ORIGINAL INCARNATION.
NETHER LARGIE SOUTH IS VISIBLE FROM THE STONES. A PLEASANT DAY OUT CAN BE HAD IN KILMARTIN GLEN WALKING UP THE LINER CEMETERY VISITING THE CAIRNS AND FINISHING AT KILMARTIN MUSEUM. THERE IS ALSO AN ABUNDANCE OF ROCK ART TO VIEW AT ACHNABRECK.
A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS.