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thumb Loughcrew () is near Oldcastle, County Meath, Ireland. (Sometimes written ''Lough Crew''). Loughcrew is a site of considerable historical importance in Ireland. It is the site of megalithic burial grounds dating back to approximately 3500 and 3300 BC, situated near the summit of Sliabh na Caillí and on surrounding hills and valleys. Passage tombs on the site are aligned with the Equinox sunrise. ==The Loughcrew Passage Tombs== Lough Crew Passage Tomb is one of the four main passage tomb sites in Ireland (the others are Brú na Bóinne, Carrowkeel and Carrowmore). They are thought to date from about 3300 BC. The sites consist of cruciform chambers covered in most instances by a mound. A unique style of megalithic petroglyphs are seen there, including lozenge shapes, leaf shapes, as well as circles, some surrounded by radiating lines.〔(photos of megalithic art in Cairn T ) from knowth.com〕 The site is spread across three hilltops, Carnbane East, Carnbane West, and Patrickstown. The Irish name for the site is ''Sliabh na Caillí'', which means "mountain of the hag". Legend has it that the monuments were created when a giant hag, striding across the land, dropped her cargo of large stones from her apron. The orthostats and structural stones of the monuments tend to be from local green gritstone, which was soft enough to carve, but which is also vulnerable to vandalism. In 1980 Irish-American researcher Martin Brennan discovered that Cairn T in Carnbane East is directed to receive the beams of the rising sun on the spring and autumnal equinox - the light shining down the passage and illuminating the art on the backstone.〔Documented in (photos and videos taken on site for six years in a row )〕〔Brennan, Martin, ''The Stars and the Stones: Ancient Art and Astronomy in Ireland'' - Thames and Hudson (1983); later re-published as ''The Stones of Time'' (1996).〕 Brennan also discovered alignments in Cairn L (), Knowth, and Dowth in the Boyne Valley. The Cairn T alignment is similar to the well-known illumination at the passage tomb at Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange), which is aligned to catch the rays of the winter solstice sunrise. There are about twenty-three tombs in the Loughcrew complex in addition to Cairn L and Cairn T, along with additional archeological sites. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Loughcrew」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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