Gur, Lough

Crescent-shaped lake central to an extensive prehistoric settlement in County Limerick, Republic of Ireland; one of the most complete Neolithic and Bronze Age habitation sites in Europe. Neolithic huts with stone foundations and enclosures, dating from 3500 to 100 BC, dot the marshy shore lines and the slopes of Knockadoon Hill. The lake contains a number of crannogs (dwellings on artificial islands). Wedge tombs, gallery-graves, and more than 20 stone circles have been identified. Grange Stone Circle, 4,000 years old, is the largest in Ireland, with 113 stones and a diameter of 45 m/150 ft. Artefacts recovered include the Loch Gur shield, a piece of heavily bossed armour from 600 BC. Later features include two Viking stone forts and an Early Christian earthen ring-fort. The bones of reindeer, bear, and giant Irish deer, species now extinct in Ireland, have been found in caves above the lake.