Reask facts for kids
Reask (Irish: Riasc) is an ancient ruined site in County Kerry, Ireland. It's located about 1 kilometer east of a village called Baile an Fheirtéaraigh. This special place was once an early Christian monastery, a bit like a small religious community. Even though most of the buildings are gone, Reask helps us understand what a small monastery looked like a very long time ago, during the Early Medieval period.
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What is Reask?
Reask was a place where monks lived and prayed many centuries ago. Today, you can see the low stone walls that are left of their homes and a special stone with a cross carved into it. This stone stands right in the middle of the old monastery area. It shows us how people lived and practiced their faith in Ireland a long, long time ago.
Discovering the Past
Archaeologists, who are like history detectives, explored Reask in the 1970s. A person named Tom Fanning led these digs. They found the remains of several buildings. One was an oratory, which is a small chapel or prayer room. They also found many clocháns, which are round stone huts. Some of these huts were even connected to each other.
The archaeologists also found a graveyard at Reask. This shows that people lived and were buried here for a long time. They discovered about ten decorated stone slabs. One of these stones is very special and beautiful.
The Amazing Stones
One of the most important discoveries at Reask is a tall stone pillar. It stands about 1.64 meters high, which is taller than most people! It's also about 0.6 meters wide. This stone has a beautiful design carved into it. It shows a Greek cross, which is a cross with four equal arms, inside a circle. From this cross, there are cool spiral designs.
This stone was decorated around the 7th century, which was a very long time ago in the Early Christian period. You can also see the letters 'DNE' carved sideways next to the cross. These letters stand for 'Domi)ne', which means O Lord in Latin. Another stone found at Reask has a large Latin cross carved on it. This cross has special ends that split into two parts, and two smaller crosses in the top corners.
Life After the Monastery
After the monks stopped using the oratory, the Reask site was used for a different purpose. It became a ceallurach, which was a burial ground especially for children. More burials were made in stone boxes, and some of these were covered with shiny quartz stones and smooth pebbles from the seashore.
The entire area where the monastery was located was surrounded by an enclosure. This enclosure was built even before the two groups of double clocháns were made. Among the smaller cross-pillars found, one has a cool carving of a bird. Another stone has the letters DNO on one side and DNI on the other.
Where to See the Finds
Some of the amazing things found during the excavations at Reask are now on display. This includes some of the stones with crosses carved into them. You can see them at Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne. This museum is located in the nearby village of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh. Reask is a very important historical site in Ireland. It is now protected by the state as a National Monument.
Images for kids
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Reask Monastic Site panorama
