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Craddockstown Menhir Traditional Geocache

Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Craddockstown West Standing Stone is an example of menhir - ancient stone set upright near main entrance to Punchestown Racecourse.

A menhir (French, from Middle Breton : men - stone + hir - long), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Their size can vary considerably, but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top. Menhirs are widely distributed across Europe, Africa and Asia, but are most numerous in Western Europe; in particular in Ireland. There are about 50,000 megaliths in these areas, while there are 1,200 menhirs in northwest France alone. Standing stones are usually difficult to date. They were constructed during many different periods across pre-history, and they were erected as part of a larger megalithic culture that flourished in Europe and beyond.

Like the Punchestown Longstone this one can be tricky to get to as there is no obvious entrance to the field. There is a small bank next to the road, free from bushes that you can climb over and walk up the steady hill to the stone. This is a crop field so please don’t damage crops and go either when the field is not being used or take care to walk along the tractor marks.

This stone is somewhat smaller than its sister stone (The Punchestown Longstone) but still stands to a height of 4m.

Camo container with logbook. Shoulder height. BYOP. Don't remove the tied container - just open and take the log.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

fubhyqre uvtu. Lbh pna frr zrauve ba gur bgure fvqr bs gur ebnq, va gur svryq.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)