(ORDO NEWS) — Every year, millions of tourists come to Northern Ireland to visit the Giant’s Causeway, an unusual structure of 40,000 hexagonal stone columns that gently descend into the sea.
Theories for stone formation range from the mythical giant Finn McCool to more scientific explanations.
Now Dr. Mike Simms, curator of natural sciences at the New York State Museums, has come up with a new theory for the first time since 1940. He wondered why unusual geological features only occur at sea level.
And he came to the conclusion that the formation of stones was caused by an event that lasted only a few days, and not thousands of years, as previously thought.
The Road of the Giants occupies approximately six kilometers of the coast of Northern Ireland. About 40,000 stone pillars, usually with five to seven sides, make up the region’s tourist attraction.
According to the Britannica directory, this site was formed 50-60 million years ago during the Paleogene period and in 1986 became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The scientific explanation for its formation, which was considered the most acceptable for decades, is that the river valley was filled with lava that accumulated at a greater depth than usual.
When the thick layer of lava cooled and hardened, it formed these well-shaped pillars.
However, Dr. Simms put forward the idea that if this lava-filled depression were a valley, then it would cut through the old layers of lava underneath.
He found layers of old lava on the shore on either side of Giant’s Causeway that were tilted inward where the older layers had not been eroded away.
Dr. Simms stated, “In explaining this, I find the analogy of a cake useful. The destruction of a river valley is like cutting open a layer of a pie to reveal the layers beneath the surface.”
In my interpretation, we see layers of old rock crumbling towards the “road of the giants” – it’s more like a poorly baked cake that fell in the middle.
“I believe that the earth sank when the lava rose and poured to the surface. Lava filled the depression, creating conditions for the formation of columns.
“This event probably happened in just a few days, and not in the many thousands of years that erosion would have taken to create a river valley.”
Dr. Simms explained that he first thought about this theory during a 2012 trip to the World Heritage Site. He had been on the Giant’s Road many times before and agreed with the generally accepted theory. But a conversation with another geologist gave him a new idea.
It is worth noting that some other experts have already supported Simms’ theory, although of course it needs proof.
According to legend, a giant named Finn McCool (also known as Fionn Mac Cumhaill) once lived in Northern Ireland.
When another giant – Benandonner, who lives across the Irish Sea in Scotland – began to threaten Ireland, Finn in response tore up large pieces of Antrim’s coastline and threw them into the sea.
The newly created path – the Road of the Giants – paved the way for Finn through the sea to get to Benandonner.
However, this turned out to be a bad idea, as Benandonner is a huge giant, much bigger than Finn! To save himself, Finn flees to Ireland, where his quick-witted wife has disguised him as a baby.
When Benandonner arrives, he sees Finn disguised as a baby and realizes that if the baby is that big, then his father must be much bigger than Benandonner himself!
Realizing this, Benandonner hurries back to Scotland, tearing off as much of the Causeway as possible in order to separate Ireland from himself as far as possible. Thus was born the myth of the Giant’s Road.
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