Further to the north there is a road that loops around Cullaun. On the north side of this road there are again many stones. I came across at least 20. Most of these seem to be in groups or alignments with a few cases standing alone.
The first ones you come across are an odd alignment consisting of a small stone, a slightly larger stone and a large slab set at right angles to the alignment. There are two other stones in this field and a single large stone in each of the fields beyond.
Further around you come to two more groups of stones, four in the first field and three in the next.
Without being able to spend more time studying these it is impossible to come up with any theories on the layout. None of the alignments seemed to have common directions which might hint at a very complex calendar or it might suggest random placings.
I intend to go back in dryer weather and have a serious look at these stones.
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________From Roscrea take the N62 south. After the N7 island take the first left and continue to the next junction. Turn right and continue until you reach a fork in the road. Take the right fork and carry on until the road takes a sharp right. Turn left here and continue for about 600m. There is a sign pointing up a track to the Timoney Stones. Continue past this sign and take the first right. Drive around this road and keep looking left to see these stones.
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. |