Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Category: Ancient Sites

Ancient Sites / Stone Circles / UFO Sightings / UFOs

Twelve Apostles Standing Stones

Situated 1264 feet above sea level, the Twelve Apostles Standing Stones (once known as the Druids Chair and the Druidical Dial Circle) is the second highest ancient monument on Rombald’s Moor and probably dates from 3500-4000 years.

Ancient Sites / King Arthur / Scottish Folktales

Eildon Hill

Eildon Hill is a triple peak that dominates the landscape around Melrose in Southern Scotland. The hillfort was occupied in pre-historic times, was used as a signal station by the Romans, and was re-occupied during the Romano-British period. It is associated with the legendary wizard Michael Scot, and the ballad of Thomas the Rhymer.

Ancient Sites / Folklore / Scottish Folktales

Edin’s Hall Broch

This is one of the most southerly broch survivals, which are more typically associated with Northern Scotland. Broch’s were multi floored defensive structures with room for cattle in the lower enclosure and accommodation on the upper floors accessed by passageways in the thick walls.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Dragons / Early Christianity / Legends

La Hougue Bie

La Hogue Bie is a major Neolitic ritual site dating back to 3500BC and one of the best preserved cruciform passage graves in Europe. Its passage is twenty meters long and is covered by a 12.2 meter high earth mound. The mound istelf is 58 meters in diameter and covers an area of 2400 square meters.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Earth Works / Folklore / Legends / Standing Stones

The Hill of Tara

The Hill of Tara – ancient seat of the Kings of Ireland – is the focal point in a complex landscape of ancient monuments dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. It is a stirring setting where mythology and history fuse together, and has been revered as a holy site for thousands of years.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds

Poulnabrone Dolmen

The Poulnabrone Dolmen is a portal tomb dating back to Neolithic times (2500BC). The thin capstone is about 12’ in length and is supported 6’ from the ground by two portal stones.

Ancient Sites / King Arthur / Legends / Standing Stones

Lochmaben Stane (Stone)

The Lochmaben Stane (or Lochmabenstane, Lochmabenstone, Clochmabenstane, Old Graitney Stone, Lowmabanstane, Loughmabanestane) stands in a farmers field near where the Kirtle Water enters the Solway Firth. Made if granite, it measures 7-8 feet in height and has a girth between 18 and 21 feet (depending upon your source).

Ancient Sites / Early Christianity / Legends

Gallarus Oratory

Ireland has a history of early Christian settlement dating as far back as the 6th century when monastic settlements were developed as bastions of the faith in the remote Irish countryside. Gallarus Oratory is the oldest and best preserved example of an early church that served one of these small settlements, and is probably one of the oldest intact buildings in Ireland.

Ancient Sites / Stone Circles

Ballynoe Stone Circle

Ballynoe is a large stone circle dating from the Late Neolithic Period situated with superb views of the Mountains of Mourne to the South. Its position and size make it one of the most impressive stone circles in Ireland.

Ancient Sites / Burial Mounds / Celtic Pantheons / Fairies / Featured Sites / Folklore / Irish Fairies / Pantheons

Newgrange

If we were making a list of the top 100 ancient sites in Britain and Ireland (as is the current vogue) Newgrange would undoubtedly be in the hallowed top 10. Its great age, size, astronomical features and location in the beautiful Boyne Valley, mark it as one of the most important ‘mystery’ sites in Europe.