[Atlantic, Aran Islands, ancient, archeological, Calendar, Canon EOS 5d mk ii, Canon raw, celtic, chevaux de frise, coastal, Dun Aengus, druid, fortress, Galway Bay, historic, Inishmore, Ireland, island, karst, limestone, postcard, old, scenic, stone, stone fort, winning images, >500 >1,000 >2,000 >3,000, >4,000 views, two features]

1. 30 th April 2013 View Count reached 4,000

Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mk II with a 24-70 zoom lens at 70mm. Exposure: f13 1/125. Minimal post-production processing in Aperture.
 
Dun Aengus (literally “Angus′s Fort”) is a stone fort on Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. It consists of concentric semi-circular stone walls to the front with a 100m cliff drop to the sea at the rear.
 
This is part of my new postcard range. You can follow on to another gorgeous Very Ireland Post card .
 
Dun Aengus is an Irish National Monument in the care of the Bord of Works.
 
Outside the outer ring of wall is a defensive system, known as the “Chevaux de Frise”, in which huge jagged pieces of limestone are planted in an upright position in the ground to deter anyone who might be tempted to charge at the fort.
 
The term “Chevaux de Frise” literally means the “Horses of the Frisians”. This is a joke from the middle ages coined by the Frisians′ neighbours, as they had cavalry while the Frisians didn’t. Instead the Frisians used the “pointy stones” technique to defend their territory. However sites such as Dun Aengus reveal that this is a defensive system first applied many centuries earlier.
 
Archeological excavation in the 1990s suggested that the site was first occupied about 4,000 years ago.
 
This shot was taken outside the “Chevaux de Frise”.

History of this Image on RedBubble

1. 2nd December 2012 View Count reached 3,003 views,
2. 18th April 2011 it had been viewed 500 times.*
3. Sunday 22nd August 2010 view count 100
4. 16th July 2010 uploaded to Red Bubble

It has been featured in the Redbubble Groups:

1. “The world as we See It” and
2. “The landscapes of our world”.

It was the winner of the This is Eire challenge in the Architecture British Isles group and was runner up in an avatar challenge in the Unique Buildings of the World group.
 

Techie Photographic Details
Taken on a Canon 5D Mk II with a 24-70 zoom lens at 70mm. Exposure: f13 1/125. Minimal post-production processing in Aperture.