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Beltany Stone Circle
| Raphoe Co. Donegal | ||
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Visitor's rating: 8 vote(s) | ||
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| More attractions in Co. Donegal. |
The Beltany Stone Circle, or Beltany Tops is located about three kilometres south of Raphoe. Although several stones are leaning outwards at acute angles due to unprofessional excavations in the beginning of the twentieth century it is still an impressive site and worthwhile a visit.
For Irish standards the site is well signposted and accessible. Perhaps because we are raised in the Netherlands, where the few ancient remnants are cherished and protected by some commission, we can not get used to cattle grazing on such a site.
Stonehenge of Donegal
Beltany Stone Circle
(authors collection)
Some authors refer to the Beltany Stone Circle as Stonehenge of Donegal. This would give you a hint of what you can expect.
The structure is built around 2000 BC. The circle, approximately 44 meter in diameter, is made up from 64 stones, but there are indications that about 15 to 20 stones are missing. In the circle is a tumulus. Based on the presence of that tumulus several scholars claim that this site is actually a passage tomb or a transitional structure between passage tomb and stone circle.
Twenty meters south-east of the circle is a small 1.9 meter high standing stone.
With 80-plus stones it is more likely to find alignments than not. There is however one alignment that seems rather convincing. The largest stone in the south-west quadrant of the circle and a cupmarked stone in the north-east quadrant are aligned with Tullyrap, a small hill about eight kilometres away where the sun rises on the first day of May.
Beltany is probably derived from Baal Tinne, meaning Baal's Fire, and Beltane was an ancient festival. The deity Baal was the ruler of nature and he was honoured with bonfires, representing the sun.
The festival of Beltane marked the end of the spring and the beginning of the summer and is the counterpart of Samhaim, the festival that marks the beginning of the winter. Both the deity as the festival are associated with growth and fecundity. This festival was held on the first day of May.