{"id":1330,"date":"2016-07-27T20:41:58","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T00:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/?p=1330"},"modified":"2016-07-27T21:57:13","modified_gmt":"2016-07-28T01:57:13","slug":"5-best-ancient-celtic-sites-for-your-bucket-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/07\/5-best-ancient-celtic-sites-for-your-bucket-list.html","title":{"rendered":"5 Best Ancient Celtic Sites for your Bucket List"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"1200px-Glendalough_monastery\"<\/p>\n

Glendalough<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

First off, especially if you land at Dublin Airport, this ancient beauty ought to be your first stop. Jump in your rent-a-car and it\u2019s only a little over an hour south of Dublin. Heck, stay the night in Co. Wicklow. This entire area is steeped in monastic charm and mystique.<\/span><\/p>\n

Situated in a stunning glacial valley, Glendalough is one of the best known and most significant monastic sites in Ireland. It is an early Christian monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century and from it developed the \u201cMonastic City\u201d.<\/p>\n

This particular site offers a whole host of interesting monastic ruins along with several hiking routes in and around the valley. Bring the umbrella just in case!
\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Carrowmore\"<\/p>\n

Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Situated at the geographical center of the C\u00fail Irra peninsula in County Sligo and 3 km west of Sligo town, this passage tomb surrounded by boulders, is one of the most significant passage tomb complexes in Ireland. The others being\u00a0 Newgrange<\/a>, Knowth<\/a>, Dowth<\/a>, Fourknocks<\/a>, Loughcrew<\/a>\u00a0and Tara<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 all situated in County Meath on the east coast. Mostly in the Boyne Valley.<\/span><\/p>\n

And what is special about this passage tomb? It is one of the largest and oldest passage tombs in Ireland, circa 3700 BC. It was the focal point of a prehistoric ritual landscape<\/a>, thereby constituting it as a sacred\u00a0archaeological site of interest. Important ceremonial rites took place here and, as in all such sacred landscapes, you can sense the lingering mist of prehistoric ritualism in the air, in the breeze, and in the stillness.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"newgrange-safaris\"<\/p>\n

Newgrange<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Megalithic Passage Tomb at Newgrance, Co Meath\u00a0was built circa 3200 BC. The elliptical shaped mound covers an area of over one acre and is encircled by 97 kerbstones<\/a>, bearing megalithic art. The 19 metre long inner passage ends at a cruciform chamber with a corbelled roof. Astonishingly the inner chamber has remained bone dry for millennia! Such was the engineering prowess of its builders. Many historians believe that the construction of the Newgrange Passage Tomb would have taken a work force of 300 at least 20 years!<\/span><\/p>\n

The passage and chamber were designed to be illuminated by the\u00a0winter solstice<\/a> sunrise. A thin shaft of sunlight shines through the roof box at the entrance and permeates the passage and chamber with light. This phenomenon lasts for 17 minutes at dawn on the Winter Solstice. Thousands apply annually to witness the event, and a lottery decides the fifty lucky winners!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Rock<\/p>\n

Rock of Cashel<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

What can one say about this gem from an ancient era? Firstly, it\u2019s located in Cashel, Co. Tipperary. And what exactly is it? It\u2019s basically an ancient limestone outcrop containing a treasure chest of medieval Celtic art and 800 year old frescoes, to name but a few of its multifaceted features.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re talking a 12th century round tower, a Gothic cathedral and, yes a number of well-preserved Celtic Crosses. The official Irish website<\/a>\u00a0for this iconic gem\u00a0sums it up neatly in these words:<\/p>\n

One of the most spectacular tourist attractions in Ireland and one of the most visited. Cashel\u2019s rich history is reflected in its built heritage, from prehistoric raths to medieval monasteries and fortified town houses, a Georgian Cathedral and a 21st century Library (which holds regular exhibitions, workshops and concerts).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Rock<\/p>\n

Skellig Michael<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

No, it\u2019s not simply a spiky crag jutting out of the Atlantic ocean. Also, known as Great Skellig, this landmark site is one ot two Skellig islands\u00a011.6 kilometres west of the Iveragh peninsula in County Kerry. The other island is known as Little Skellig.<\/p>\n

According to to World Heritage Ireland website<\/a>, \u201cSkellig Michael was the chosen destination for a small group of ascetic monks who, in their pursuit of greater union with God, withdrew from civilisation to this remote and inaccessible place. Some time between the sixth and eight centuries, a monastery was founded on this precipitous rock giving rise to one of the most dramatic examples of the extremes of Christian monasticism.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is well preserved and definitely worth a visit. There is nothing like it in the western world.<\/p>\n

Photo Credits: Wikipedia Commons<\/a>, Carrowmore.com<\/a>, Wikipedia Commons<\/a>, The Foundry Community<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unique places of archaeological and spiritual signigicance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2586,"featured_media":1331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-1330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-celtic-cross","tag-ireland","tag-monastic-ruins"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Best Ancient Celtic Sites for your Bucket List<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unique places of archaeological and spiritual signigicance\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/07\/5-best-ancient-celtic-sites-for-your-bucket-list.html\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/07\/5-best-ancient-celtic-sites-for-your-bucket-list.html\/2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Best Ancient Celtic Sites for your Bucket List\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unique places of archaeological and spiritual signigicance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/07\/5-best-ancient-celtic-sites-for-your-bucket-list.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pit Stop for the Spiritually Bamboozled\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-28T00:41:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-07-28T01:57:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/675\/2016\/07\/Carrowmore.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"338\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gerard A. 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