I have been fascinated by this place for a very long time. My pal Liam has told me some intriguing things about Drombeg. We were drinking beer at Scruffy Murphy's (as we have been known to do), and we began talking about the various stone monuments around Europe, and especially those in Ireland. Liam's specialty is Neolithic Europe, and these stones are some of the few remnants of that era. The odd thing about Drombeg however, is the fact that it's not of that era. Liam should know. The accepted wisdom in archaeological circles is that Drombeg was constructed much more recently than the vast majority of stone circles in western Europe.

It's unsettling to find out there's a gap of 500 to 800 years between the construction of Drombeg and the majority of similar monuments in Ireland. What provoked a resurgence in megalith construction? Why would the people of ancient Ireland resume building stone monuments in the style of their ancesters. It's likely that there are several dozen generations between the last monument builders and the builders of Drombeg. I don't know and I don't think Liam knows either. Archaeology is a strange business. I've had to sling a few beers into Liam's gate to get him to open up about the mysteries of ancient Europe. Just what were they thinking?

Lots of theories abound about the stone circles. One that I'm particularly interested in is the idea of them being observatories or timepieces. This is the arena of the archaeoastronomers. The author of an article in Scientific American expounded at length regarding a number of stone circles in northern Scotland that were properly aligned to predict the positions of various celestial phenomenon including the 19.2 year cycle of the moon's passage through the heavens. That's pretty impressive for people who didn't have access to the technology we enjoy today. However, Drombeg is not aligned to a lot of celestial events. The winter solstice sunrise illuminates the shorter stone that you can see between the two large stones in the center of the circle. This sort of alignment would point to a ceremonial usage, but it's anybody's guess as to what actually transpired here. I guess we'll have to wait for Liam's book.

Lia has a different theory: she figures it was constructed by Neolithic Frat Boys. Despite her tongue-in-cheek remark, she has a valid point. Humans probably didn't live as long then, as we do now, and let's face it: older humans have been adept at exploiting younger humans since time immemorial. Chances are good that the youth of ancient Cork were the primary labourers who built Drombeg in the first place. Frat boys indeed. Considering the intensive and long term effort needed to build something like this, it's amazing that the circle was built at all.

In 1935, Boyle Somerville, a respected archaeologist of the day brought the psychic Miss Geraldine Cummings to Drombeg. Her impression was less than favourable. She sensed that all sorts of nasty rituals took place, governed by druid priests in flowing blue robes. "There was an abandonment in action and behaviour which I may not describe." She went on to say that Drombeg was "guarded by the spirits of darkness." I suspect her view of the ancients was tainted by Roman propoganda that portrayed the peoples of northern Europe as somewhat less than human with a penchant for human sacrifice. If she were privy to modern knowledge, she would have known that the stone circles are pre Celtic anyway. Even Drombeg predates the Celts arrival in Ireland despite it's more recent construction.

In 1957 and 1958 Drombeg was excavated, and cremated human remains were found near the recumbant stone and at the center of the circle. This points to a funerary purpose at some point in Drombeg's history. That's about the only trace of human activity inside the circle. Just to the west of the circle, the story changes. Just a few meters away there lie the remains of a cooking area and a stone hut. It was discovered that 70 gallons of water could be boiled quite easily for several hours in the flagstone trough. Perhaps this is proof that the Irish have been boiling the crap out of their food for millenia.

The prehistoric mystery endures, and it's a very stirring place to visit. It was cool and drizzly the morning we arrived, and the off-season was in full swing. Except for a couple of young fellows with weed whackers, we had the place to ourselves. The fact that 3000 or so years have elapsed since this stone circle was built didn't really matter much. The exact purpose of the circle has long been forgotten, but the stones remain to tell us something about the people who lived here. The most that we could do was stand in awe at the circle of stones.

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