Posted on 02/25/2006 10:44:53 AM PST by blam
Ancient refuge found by workmen
The stone-built tunnel leads into the hillside
Workmen have unearthed 1,000 years of history on a County Down building site. They have come upon an underground stone-built tunnel in Raholp, where our ancestors might have hidden from the Vikings or from warring neighbours.
Archaeologist Ken Neill said that with chambers off from the main tunnel it was a quite complicated souterrain, and probably built by better off farmers.
The opening that led to the tunnel - which leads into the hillside - will be sealed and the passage left alone.
"It was really somewhere for you to get down and hide when your area was being attacked by your neighbours or Vikings," he said.
"You would get down into this and you would be relatively safe.
The souterrain was found on a building site
"It would be a brave man that would come down one of these after you - not knowing the plan of it and not knowing at which corner he stuck his head round you'd be waiting on the other side with an axe or whatever."
There are about 1,000 known souterrains in Northern Ireland, about 100 of which are in County Down.
They are one of Ireland's most distinctive archaeological features but very few are accessible to the public.
While the one on the building site is being closed off the Finnis souterrian, near Dromara, is open to the public.
Known locally as Binder's Cove it was found in the 18th century and consists of a main passage of around 30m in length and two straight side passages on the right hand side, each approximately 6m long.
GGG Ping.
What is the nearest town?
Being in Ireland, I thought you meant a pub...
Instead of hiding from the vikings is it possible they stored their vegetables there?
Sounds like a good old fashioned "cave" we used to have on the farm.
Hiding when the Vikings came to town seems like a very good idea.
bump
I thought the Vikings were peace loving seafarers who only wished to trade with their neighbors. Why would anyone want to hide from them?
I thought the Vikings were peace loving seafarers who only wished to trade with their neighbors. Why would anyone want to hide from them?
At least Daunte Culpepper can be confident in knowing upon which bench he will be sitting come September.
Because of a trip I took to Ireland in 2001, I am the grateful recipient of a beautiful bi-monthly publication called "Ireland of the Welcomes".
In the most recent issue there is a long article about Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth -- three 5000 year old stone age burial sites north of Dublin. Apparently, Newgrange is also an astronomical site, built in the stone age to mark the shortest day of the year.
Newgrange has a slit in the ground that focuses a sunbeam on the day of the winter solstice against the back wall of this long tunnel. Dec. 21 or 22 is the only day of the year when the sun can penetrate the tunnel and fall on the wall at the end.
These burial mounds are quite elaborate and decorated with many spirals and other figures of ornamentation. They were built by stone age people long before the pyramids of Egypt without the help of metal tools.
The article was fascinating, and I am sorry that Newgrange was not on our tour.
Newgrange interior.
The Winter Solstice sun illuminating the quartz wall. I don't know if this will flash, but if you go to the Knowth link above, you can see this photo in action.
Famous Irish megalithic tri-spirals seen in the cave.
ping
Actually, you're not completely off base here...the Danish Vikings who cruised the British Isles were the warlike, rapacious lot; but, the Swedish Vikings traveling south into Europe were more likely to trade with you as kill you.
Our tour guide and bus driver on my tour of Ireland 5 years ago would regale the passengers every time we came to a near collision with our huge bus on the impossibly narrow Irish roads.
"Viking!" he would spat while he muttered a disgusted oath under his breath at the driver of every oncoming car that cut too close to our bus.
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