beltany tops

The name of this solitary hill 2 miles south of Raphoe recalls the Celtic springtime festival of Beltane (the ancient equivalent of May Day), traditionally associated with the lighting of hill-top fires to regenerate the sun. The wreckage of great stones on this well chosen site belongs to an earlier period than the Celtic Iron Age. As it stands, it poses problems of classification. Part stone circle, part mound, it has suffered at the hands of despoilers and must look very different from its original state. The enclosing ring is megalithic, several of its slabby stones attaining heights of 8 feet or more. Many lean haphazardly outward under the pressure of the disturbed, boulder-strewn interior, the surface of which is 3-4 feet higher than the surrounding land. A solitary outlier stands 70 feet to the south-east. Possible astronomical alignments have been suggested for some of the circle-stones; one, perhaps fortuitously, points to sunrise at or about Beltane.