Spooky monument to the dead

[Cian McLiam]

This is Proleek dolmen, a portal tomb outside Dundalk Co. Louth in Ireland, I believe its one of the most photographed Dolmens in Ireland and its not hard to see why!

Played around a bit with this, used long shutter times and moved around the dolmen with the flash in my hand and fired it manually using the test button (camera was on self timer). It was late in the evening and I dont know if I like the darker ones or the more illuminated ones best. Hopefully you can get a feeling of how this tomb dominates the landscapes and really gives you an eerie feeling.

Oh and no, I have no idea how they got that 30 tonne stone up on top in the stone age!!

F8, 6.5 Seconds ISO 200 with Grad Grey filter.

Same as above with 3 seconds @ ISO 400

F8, 6.5 Seconds, ISO 200 no filters

 

[MAM]

excellent shots!!! the dark one is the best in my opinion, the angle of it too, really give the image an awe-inspiring feeling...............

as someone who studied archaeology, i'm still always amazed at the ingenuity of early people who didn't have the "advanced technologies" we do, yet their structures and monuments outlive many that were built in just the last few hundred years............

how they got that rock up, a little logical thinking (levers and pullies were not unknown a thousnd and more years ago....), a few strong backs, a little time, and whole heck of a lot of respect for their dead.

 

[Cian McLiam]

Thanks MAM You may be interested in the series of photos I'm building up of ancient monuments near where I live, will be posting more soon...

BTW, there is a reason there are little stones up on top of the dolmen, apparently the local folklore says that a person who throws a stone up on top will be married within a year if the stone doesnt fall back down again!

 

[MAM]

would love to see more pics cian!! originally, i was going to go into archaeology of the british isles (even had an application in for a grad school in scotland). still one of my favorite parts of the world, archaeologically speaking.

hmmmm, maybe i should make a trip over there and toss a stone................

 

[Cat]

How tall is that cian?

 

[Cian McLiam]

How tall is that cian?

Well, I found a pic of some guy standing under it on the web, should give you an idea! He doesnt look to small either

 

[FanOFish]

Great pics Cian, I like the second one best because you can see from the surrounding trees and such how massive these rocks are. It amazes me the think that humans did that without the machinery we have today......

 

[Cat]

Never been Ireland but I have it on my must visit list,it looks so beautiful away from all the troubles there.

 

[lizard]

Neat pictures and tomb! I think the first pictures gives the monument an eerie look. It doesn't look nearly as eerie or creepy in the other two pictures, though it is still quite amazing. The third picture makes it look as if that stone is balanced awfully precariously on there

Pamela
aka Married Lizard

 

[chishnfips]

Quality pictures cian man, how can you get similar effects with a digital camera, I also have an SLR camera but I am not that up on how to use it.