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The remains of a Bronze Age tomb have been discovered on the Atlantic coast of County Kerry, Ireland. Previously, this tomb was thought to have been destroyed.
Located on a hill outside the village of Ballyfellitter on the Dingle Peninsula, the Sun Altar, or Altoire-na-Grène as the locals call it, was built around 4,000 years ago and suddenly disappeared in the mid-19th century. did.
The monument had been sketched by British aristocrat Georgiana Chatterton in 1838. However, 14 years later, antiquarian Richard Hitchcock reported that the altar had been broken and subsequently removed from the site.
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While filming the site recently as part of an archaeological mapping project, folklorist Billy Mag Frohin noted the presence of stones in the undergrowth while converting the video into a 3D scan. did. It is reminiscent of Chatterton’s Victorian sketches.
After sending the material to the National Monuments Office in Dublin, archaeologist Caimin O’Brien confirmed that the stone once belonged to an early Bronze Age wedge tomb between 2500 and 2000 BC. It was confirmed. Wedge-shaped tombs were used by Bronze Age people for both ritual and burial of bodies.
A quarter of the original grave remains on site, including the capstone and several large upright stones. guardian report. Now that the remains have been discovered, the tomb will be added to Ireland’s national monuments database, joining hundreds of similar structures.
It is still unclear why the tomb was dismantled.