9 replies to this topic

[Riposte]

Greetings All,
My first post here. Just saying "hi". Really love and appreciate the work that has been done on the entire site.
I am totally fascinated with these things. I made my first trip to Ireland and Newgrange/Tara last year. Bad Idea! Am bordering on obsession now ;-)

I know the info is elusive but what are the good books that deal with the people and cultures responsible for the tombs/stones.
Thanks

[Bill Greer]

Riposte:
   You can hardly go wrong with Aubrey Burl:
   The Stone Circles of the British Isles
   Prehistoric Avebury
   Great Stone Circles

[Edited by Diego (08-05-2000 at 10:29).]

[Diego]

Other good introductory books are:

Megaliths: stones of memory by Jean-Pierre Mohen
Standing Stones of Europe : A Guide to the Great Megalithic Monuments by
Alastair Service, Jean Bradbery

[Riposte]

Oops. I should have been more specific....

So what's a good book about Newgrange and/or other passage tombs and related burial sites, especially ones in Ireland?

If there are no choice recommendations I'll go with one of the Burl books....
Thanks

[Diego]

I have moved this thread from the original "Welcome" topic. I hope you'll find it more appropriate.
Anyway, if you are looking for info on good books about Irish megaliths, why don't you have a look at the Irish Section of our bookshop?

[Riposte]

I just ordered the Michael O'Kelly book from Amazon. I'll let you all know my thoughts.

I know that you just can't wait ;-)

Thanks

[JohnO]

Isn't that first visit to Newgrange fantastic. Can't help you with book references but was glad to remember my first visit.

If you ever get to Orkney do visit the Tomb of the Eagles. Fantastic! You can hold a 5,000 year old man's skull in your hand, hold his tools, and lay hands on all the things excavated from one of the most important finds excavated by an "amateur" on his own land.

[fiona]

Riposte,
Try 'Landscapes of Neolithic Ireland' by Gabriel Cooney, Publisher: Routledge, 2000
ISBN 0-415-16977-1.

Cooney's previous book is

'Irish Prehistory: A Social Perspective' co-authored with E Grogan and published by Wordwell 1994.

Cooney is a professor at University College Dublin so knows his stuff and is famed for his interpretive/social approach to archaeology.

The second of these is available from Amazon so I assume the first is as well.

Fiona

[Riposte]

Have just received the O'Kelly book. So far so good, but it does jump right in with the dry, technical stuff. It's written well enought to be understandable by all but it's less than a page turner from the beginning.

One question: What are "Water Rolled Stones"? the book talks about tham a bit as well as other stone sights on the web.
Thanks

[Gunnar Creutz]

I suppose that water-rolled stones are stones that are rounded off by rolling in water, moved by flowing water or waves.

Gunnar

[Edited by Gunnar Creutz (17-05-2000 at 19:36).]