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![]() QUERN STONE FOUND NEAR GRANGE: The item of cut-stone on the right was found some time ago within a short distance of the ruined building at Grange (shown above). It is believed that it belonged to the monks who once lived there. For the reasons given above the monks at Grange probably left in a great hurry: taking with them only their lighter and more valuable possessions. This stone is thought to be part of a hand-mill for grinding cereals of the kind used in bread making. In olden times it would have been called a quern. Monks of the time would normally be fully self-sufficient as far as the provision of food for their communities was concerned. The local person who found the stone expressed the thought that local school children might enjoy (and benefit) from seeing it, and consequently it is at present (May 2000) on display in one of Finnerty's shop windows. The wish has also been expressed that at some later date this stone might be returned to the area where it was found, possibly as part of a small, simple monument in memory of the community of monks who once lived and worked at Grange. The newly formed New Inn Local Community Council has been informed, and it is hoped that its members will give some thought to this idea. The person who found the stone would prefer to remain anonymous. |
![]() PORTAL TOMB?: Less than a mile from Grange, the stones shown on the left can be seen at a place called Cloonbenes. This place-name is thought to be derived from the Celtic words cluain binneas - literally "meadow sweet", but meaning "sweet meadow". They are just inside a gate by the roadside. It is thought that this collection of stones might be the collapsed remains of a portal tomb. Portal tombs are now believed to be above-ground burial chambers for the remains of people cremated in very ancient times. They normally consist of 3 to 7 upright stones which support one (or sometimes two) really heavy capstones. These monuments are also referred to as dolmens - a word which has evolved from the two Old Breton Celtic words "tol mén": which literally mean "table of stone". Some believe that dolmens were also used as alters by the Celtic druids of long ago. Several of the portal tombs examined scientifically are now believed to be in the region of 5,000 years old. |
Radiocarbon tests (believed to be accurate to within a few hundred years) indicate that one such cairn at Ballymacdermot (Co. Armagh, in Northern Ireland), was constructed in 4975 B.C., making it somewhere in the region of 6,975 years old. This would mean that structures of this kind were being built in parts of Ireland (including Alloon?) well over 2,000 years before the first of the great pyramids of Egypt was constructed. The Pyramid Age, Dynasties III to VI, during which all of the really spectacular pyramids in Egypt are believed to have been built, was between 2686 B.C. and 2181 B.C.. In so far as we know, and as seems to be the case with dozens of other ancient monuments in the local area, there has never been any significant archaeological study of the cairn near Alloon. For those who are interested in seeing it, its exact location is shown on current editions of Map 46 in the Discovery Series of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland (which is compiled, published and printed by The Ordnance Survey Office, Phoenix Park, Dublin). Many of the larger newsagents in the Republic of Ireland stock copies of this particular series of maps. The Cairn at Alloon is listed under the name "Annagh an Teanach" (reference number 1026) on pages 4 and 5 of the book entitled "Archaeological Inventory of County Galway (Volume II)" - which was published in 1999 by the Government Stationary Office in Molesworth Street, Dublin 2. It is referred to using the word "Tumulus": suggesting that it is very old - possibly from the Neolithic period. Unfortunately, the part shown above on the right has been badly damaged, and this Government publication contains the following statement: " ... the SW half was completely removed in 1977 during road widening". |
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