'Lettergorman S' : Stone Circle

TownlandLettergorman
CountyCork
Grid RefW 262 456
GPSW 26211 45603 (5m)
Longitude9° 3' 59.17" W
Latitude51° 39' 29.48" N
ITM east480366
ITM north584435
Nearest TownDunmanway (7.7 Km)
OS Sheets86, 89
UTM zone29U
UTM x449041
UTM y5761192
Hide map  (N.B. Google Maps & GPS readings are slightly out of sync - position is approximate)
Show inline map (by Google Maps)

Visit Notes

Sunday, 13th April 2003

What an adventure! Getting to this tall 5-stone stone circle is easy, especially if you use the gate, because it is just 50m from the road. We didn't spot the gate until later and so ended up going via some rough land and a ditch with a stream at the bottom. I had parked half off the road thinking a car could easily get past it, and being 10am on a Sunday morning I wasn't really expecting any traffic down this country lane anyway. However, just as I reached the circle (already soaking wet from the rain) a milk tanker rounded the corner! So, I run back to the car only to find that I've dropped my car keys somewhere! Was it in the field or the rough ground or in the stream while jumping over it? The truck driver was very patient and helped us look and eventually I found them in the field. Phew!

OK. The circle itself. One of the 1.6m tall entrance stones has fallen into the centre of the circle, but the other four stones are still standing proudly. A tree grows next to the remaining entrance stone.

The axial is a large one - 1.5m tall x 1.4m wide. Just to one side of this is, and on the outside of the circle, is a lovely large quartz boulder. What relationship this had with the circle, if any, is a mystery but many of the Cork multiple-stone circles have a central quartz stone. If this had occupied a central position within this circle then there would have been room for little else.

I want to go back here in good weather and take a look around properly.

Stones circles, put quite simply, are rings of standing stones, although not all of them are cicular, many being eliptical. Many have definite layout plans and often stone circles in one region share a similar style, e.g. Cork features many axial stones circles, where a recumbent stones faces an apparent entrance into the circle (see Drombeg (County Cork)).

They are the most well known of megalithic monuments and the ones most likely to capture anyone's imagination. Many theories exist about the original purpose of these enigmatic structures, the most popular (and at times most controversial) one is that they were built as astronomical observatories, many having apparent solar alignments with the sunrise and sunsets at the solstices and equinoxes. Lunar and star alignments have also ben noted.

No matter what the exact purpose it is certain that they played a significant role in the ritual or religious lives of the builders. One thing that nearly everyone has in common is that they are located in the most dramatic of places, usually offering unrivalled views.

Quite often other monuments, such as alignments, cairns, boulder burials or outliers, are to be found in close proximity to stone circles.

Click Thumbnail to View Full Size Image

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Sunday, 20th April 2003

Back again after just one week, but this time determined that nothing should go wrong. I managed to hold onto my keys this time!

This site is quite incredible. The south-west axis between the entrance stones and through the centre of the axial stone leads the eye straight to Carrigfadda, something I was unable to see last week in the torrential downpour we encountered. The nice weather didn't really change the gloomy nature of the site for me, though. The stones still seem very dull and lifeless - perhaps the huge quartz boulder's whiteness emphasises the greyness of the other stones.

I now believe that the quartz boulder was in fact an outlier that would have occupied a position along the axis in the direction of Carrigfadda. This is a conclusion that I was to arrive at later in the day at the lovely Knockraheen stone circle.

Click Thumbnail to View Full Size Image

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Saturday, 9th July 2005

Another visit and I didn't lose my keys! The hay in the field had just been cut when we arrived so the circle looked as if it was in an island of long grasses and the bright sun really made the big quartz boulder shine.

This was Uta's first five-stone stone circle and there aren't many better introductions that are so easy to reach. The circle is now overlooked by three giant wind turbines to the northeast. I know many people don't like them but I love seeing them. To me they are a stark reminder of how we're screwing up the planet and large reminder of how small our efforts are to do something about it. Perhaps this is why people don't like them!

Stones circles, put quite simply, are rings of standing stones, although not all of them are cicular, many being eliptical. Many have definite layout plans and often stone circles in one region share a similar style, e.g. Cork features many axial stones circles, where a recumbent stones faces an apparent entrance into the circle (see Drombeg (County Cork)).

They are the most well known of megalithic monuments and the ones most likely to capture anyone's imagination. Many theories exist about the original purpose of these enigmatic structures, the most popular (and at times most controversial) one is that they were built as astronomical observatories, many having apparent solar alignments with the sunrise and sunsets at the solstices and equinoxes. Lunar and star alignments have also ben noted.

No matter what the exact purpose it is certain that they played a significant role in the ritual or religious lives of the builders. One thing that nearly everyone has in common is that they are located in the most dramatic of places, usually offering unrivalled views.

Quite often other monuments, such as alignments, cairns, boulder burials or outliers, are to be found in close proximity to stone circles.

Click Thumbnail to View Full Size Image

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Like this monument

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About Coordinates Displayed

This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide.

Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate.

Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies.

The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out.

UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system.

ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps.

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