ancient stones

Friday, May 16, 2008

ancient stones

i've been in Ireland a week now and i've already been able to see several castles, abbeys, cathedrals, monastic sites, and megalithic standing stones. this place is truly a "candy store" for those of us who are fascinated by ancient history.

today we toured the 15th century old Ross Castle in Killarney. built by one of the O'Donoghue Ross chieftans, it is located on the banks of Lough Leane, and is a typical example of an Irish chieftans stronghold during the middle ages. it's one of my favorite castles. this is where i learned the origin of the "cubby hole" (a wee shelf build in the wall near the fireplace to place the baby a baby to keep warm during cold nights)...and also the phrase "back against the wall" (due to the narrow spiral staircase built specifically to protect the castle, sword fights were to the attackers disadvantage).

we also toured the Gallarus monastic site near Dingle. there is a church built somewhere between the 6th and 9th centuries in a very unique way built without mortar with corbel vaulting (almost a beehive look) and an ogham stone nearby (pronounced OHM) which had slash marks on them (an early medieval alphabet representing the old Irish language). we also saw a house that was built by St. Brendan (the Navigator).

and just across the road from our B&B is a standing stone in someone's field. knowing that standing stones usually were placed by ancient peoples to signify something...the question i'm asking is...."hmmmmm, i wonder what happened there?"

Ireland is a land of mystery.

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what is this journey about?

being that i am part Irish, i have always wanted to visit the homeland of my ancestors. after traveling to Scotland in Oct 2000 on a short term Christian mission trip to serve in the urban streets of Glasgow with a small church-plant dedicated to the poor, the addicted, the youth, and even artists...my heart began to be pulled towards the rugged highlands of Scotland and the warrior poet hearts of the Scots. there was something deep that rose up from within my being and called out to me...my heart was a part of that land. being an artist, i spent a lot of time painting the bonnie landscapes of Scotland in oil & oil pastel. i held a large one person art show to raise the funds necessary for me to live in Scotland for nearly a year. i returned for a long term stay Sept 2001-May 2002 to continue serving and ministering in the streets of Glasgow (and i was also able to tour the highlands, over to the Hebrides on the Isle of Tiree, and down into England). i did some family research and found out that the Irish side of my family (McCabe) also had roots in Scotland with the Clan MacLeod on the Isle of Skye. Irish and Scottish blood runs through my veins. my heart continued to long for those wee isles in the North Atlantic. i was able to go back to Scotland and England the summer of 2005 with my parents on a family trek through the UK. we also visited Wales and finally make it to the emerald isle of Ireland. it was an amazing experience to finally step foot on Irish soil. it's hard to describe the emotions that i felt...but they were similiar to those i felt for Scotland. i felt as though i had come home. even after that trip i have continued to desire my return. i did not know when it would be possible. and then like a stroke of Irish luck some artist friends of mine offered me a ticket to join them in traveling the republic for a month. so 3 years later, i get to yet again walk the ancient paths of the celtic isle that was once home to my ancestors. this blog is about that journey.

my itinerary

time
i'll be gone a month touring the Republic of Ireland with some artist friends. they'll be many photo ops and plein aire sketching & painting. and we'll engage in getting to know the people and experience the sites, the sounds, & the tastes of the emerald isle.

flights
i'm flying with my 2 friends from Boise to Salt Lake to New York. we'll meet up with a family member of one of my friends. then we're flying from New York to Dublin. and back again.

lodging
they'll be 9 places that we'll stay at as we trek south from Dublin, around the south towards the west, up the west into the middle, and back to Dublin.

celtic meanings

hEireann or Eire or Erin: Ireland
Alba or Caledonia or Scotia: Scotland
Celt: any of the European peoples who spoke or speak a Celtic language. they were a diverse group of independent, indigenous, tribal societies. ancient history has speculated and also found that they moved westward from mainland Europe into what is now the British Isles and Ireland from perhaps the Neolithic period to the Roman age. for a detailed history of the Celtic peoples go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts
Pict: a confederation of tribes that would become central and northern Scotland from Roman times (510BC to 1st century AD) to the 10th century AD. the word Pict comes from the latin for Paint. the Picts painted their faces in battle with blue and white and the Romans called them the Painted People. for a detailed history of the Pictish peoples go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picts
stone circle: dated from the Neolithic period to the Bronze Age (3000 - 1500 BC) is an ancient monument of standing stones set in a circle. some often contain burial pits or chambers. the purpose of them is theorized to be anything from religious cermonial use to the use as astronomical marker points for calendar related event timings.
standing stones or megaliths: solitary stones set vertically in the ground. some are found in groupings with others. their purpose is unknown and they are hard to date as to their origin.
henge: a prehistoric architectural structure nearly a circular or oval shaped flat area over 65ft in diamaeter and enclosed by an earthen boundary that usually comprises a ditch with an external bank. the earthwork permits access to the interior by up to 4 entrances. internal components may include portal settings, timber circles, post rings, stone circles, 4stone settings, monoliths, standing posts, pits, coves, post alignments,stone alignments, burials, central mounds, and stakeholes. they are theorized as being used for ceremonial purposes.
passage tomb: dated to the Neolithic period (3300-2900 BC) is a tomb covered with earth or rocks or a cairn where the burial chamber is reached along a very low passage. some have sub-chambers leading off from the main burial chamber. megaliths are usually used in the construction with elaborate corbelled roofs and sometimes a stone ring surrounding the cairn. some have megalithic art carved in the stones. the passage itself might be aligned so the sun shines into the passage at significant points in the year.
dolmen: dating from the Neolithic period (4000-3000BC) a single chamber megalithic tomb usually consisting of three or more upright stones supporting a large flat horizontal capstone.
cairn or carn: dated to the Bronze Age (3000 -1000 BC) a pile of stones often placed in conical form that in ancient times were used to mark a burial site or memorialize the dead and in more modern times are used to mark hiking trails in mountain regions.
crannog or crannoc: dated from the Iron Age (1200-550 BC) to the medieval period (400 - 1500 AD), an ancient aritificial island made for a settlement. located on a small island within a loch or marsh, made with wood forming a circular enclosure. many crannogs were reached by constructing a wooden causeway from the shore.
cloictheach or round tower: built during the 9th - 12th centuries AD, they are early medieval stone roundtowers with conical tops usually found in the vicinity of a church or monastery and are thought to have been a medieval version of a bell tower, the door usually faces the west doorway of the church and are high above ground. the doors were made of wood with a wooden staircase leading to them. theories have been they were also used as a protection from invaders.
broch or watchtower: dated to the Iron Age (1200 - 550 BC), made of drystone, they were hollow-walled roundhouse forts with steps. placed at strategic points as watchtowers they were used as a defense.
dun or din: a fort or roundhouse from about 700BC and into the medieval period, made of stone and wood. often they had stairs much like a broch but they were much smaller.
Clach-na-Cinneamhain: Scottish Stone of Scone: an oblong block of red sandstone about 26 inches by 16 inches by 10.5 inches in size and weighing approximately 336 pounds. the top has chisel marks. at each end of the stone is an iron ring for transport. Historically it was kept in the abbey in Scone, Scotland (near Perth). It was used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland, the monarchs of England, and more recently the British monarchs. Tradition say it supposedly was the pillow stone of the Biblical Jacob. Legend says it was the Coronation Stone of the early Dal Rata Gaels when they lived in Ireland and brought with them when settling Caledonia. Another legend says it was the traveling altar used by St. Columba in his missionary activities throughout Scotland. Since the time of Kenneth MacAlpin (the first King of Scots) at around 847AD, Scottish monarchs were seated upon the stone during their coronation ceremony. In 1296AD the Stone was captured by Edward 1 of England as spoils of war and taken to Westminster Abbey in London where it was fitted into a wooden chair on which all subsequent English sovereigns have been crowned. In the 50s the Stone was stolen by some Scottish students trying to return it to Scotland. It was eventually found and returned to Westminster. On Nov 15, 1996 the British Government handed the Stone back over to Scotland to be kept at Edinburgh Castle until its required for future coronation ceremonies (which then it would be transported back to Westminster).
Lia Fail: Irish Stone of Destiny. it is a standing stone at the Inauguration Mound on the Hill of Tara in County Meath in Ireland. It served as a coronation stone for the High Kings of Ireland. Legend has it that all of the kings were crowned on the stone up to 500AD. Myth has it that the stone was brought to Ireland by the semi-divine people known as the Tuatha De Danann. they travelled to the "Northern Isles" (perhaps Norway) where they learned many skills and magic and brought the stone back through Scotland and then to Ireland.(it has been found that the stone from which it was carved is actually native to Ireland)
Ard: high
glen or gleann: is a valley, typically long, deep and often U-shaped.
ben or beinn: is a mountain
firth: a large sea bay or strait
loch or lough: a body of water which is either a lake or sea inlet

uisce beatha - water of life

Friday, May 16, 2008

ancient stones

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