Re-purposed Ogham stone, part of which reads Fraech son of Mebd.
Posted on 07/25/2022 12:04:08 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
While not of great speleological significance...[a]s an archaeological monument it forms part of a complex of 50 archaeological monuments that make up the ancient pre-Christian Connaught royal site of Cruachán. It is therefore of special importance as a cultural adaptation of a natural geological feature...
Originally, an earthen mound surrounded the entrance but this was almost entirely removed in the 20th C. construction of the access laneway (Waddell, 1983). Thankfully, however, what is below ground is preserved in excellent condition. This consists of a double souterrain (which is closed-in on one side) leading, after 3m, to a natural cave. In the building of the souterrain, re-purposing of other archaeological monuments occurred, in which two ogham stones were incorporated as lintel stones in the roof.
One, at the entrance reads Fraech son of Medb. Mebd likely refers to the Queen of Connaught, Maeve, whose bickering pillow-talk with King Ailill over cattle ownership lead to the attempted stealing of the Cow Of Cooley and the rise to prominence of the fearsome and brutal Cú Chulainn. In recent memory, the cave was known as the entrance to the underworld where, at Hallowe’en each year, it served as a portal to and from hell...
While only 30m long, the rift is quite impressive and the walls preserve a good degree of moonmilk calcite. For an easy to access spot, it is also relatively clean and undamaged.
NOTE: ...please note that it is protected as a National (Archaeological) Monument as well as a protected habitat under Annex I of the Habitats Directive. It is of great merit that such a monument is open to the public so please ensure that your actions here won’t lead to its damage and the inevitable gating of the entrance!
(Excerpt) Read more at cavesofireland.com ...
Why is it called ‘Cave of the cats’ ?
(first heard about the Cave of the Cats in this video; text-only links to two others follow)Celtic Irish Cats
December 24, 2019 | Dr Raoul McLaughlin
I have a feline that no one is sure.
YT videos by Dr Raoul:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGk9VXhk_l__aLVp4Yp90lw/videos
The “Oh We Gotta Cat” Cave?......................
hey, cats gotta cat.
Cats. Deliverers of civilization.
more evidence that proves it has always been about pussy...
Be about perfect if they stored beer there...
i kinda prefer refrigerators that are within a walking distance of 30 seconds or less... 😁
Cool story!
That’s hilarious.
🤣🤣🤣
😆
:^)
Thanks!
Btw great yt videos. I’m always up for the Roman Empire.
One quick note I’m sure you noticed.
At some point later found out that in I Claudius, Augustus and the Imperial family had scenes in which they were in the Colosseum watching the games, which was not built till 80 AD.
Could’ve knocked me over with a feather ;)
“Could’ve knocked me over with a feather” — heh. Caligula, ep 13...
HBO’s “Rome” series showed the small fighting arenas (more like cage fighting is today) current in the pre-Flavian centuries. The “Spectacula” amphitheater in Pompeii (built around 70 BC, buried in 79 AD) is an example of an early larger version.
Rome also had the Circus Maximus, which dated from the Etruscan monarchy period, but wasn’t rebuilt in stone until after a fire in the time of Augustus. Before that, the seating was akin to modern bleachers, and since none of the later seating appears to have survived, while some of the riser structures have, its possible that even after the rebuilding in stone, the bleachers were of wood construction.
Next time you watch the series, think “Circus Maximus” (Augustus had a special box built for the imperial family). :^)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_Maximus#Imperial_era
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphitheatre_of_Pompeii
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