Beltany Stone Circle

This monument, on a hilltop with an extensive outlook in all directions, is known as Beltany Stone Circle. It lies 3.2km NNW of the cemetery of megalithic tombs centred on Kilmonaster Middle townland. It consists of a disturbed artificial platform now c. 0.5m high, perhaps the base of a cairn, bounded by a circle of large stones. The circle is c. 45m in diameter. At present 64 stones stand in the circle, and there may originally have been up to 80. Some large stones are exposed in the disturbed interior. It has been suggested that there may have been a megalithic chamber within the circle (O.D. 1939), perhaps a passage tomb (Ó Nualláin 1995, 15). The earliest accounts of the site seem to be those in the unpublished documentation of the Ordnance Survey dating to the years shortly before the mid-19th century. It is clear that the monument was considerably disturbed at this stage. According to the OS Memoir (1836), there had been a cairn or 'vast heap of stones' within the circle, but it had been removed to form fences in the vicinity. Thomas Fagan (1845-8), who saw the monument in 1846, observed that both the interior and the enclosing circle of stones were much disfigured. He was informed that 'the interior was raised with earth and stones covering and encircling sepulchral graves' and that decayed bones were unearthed here. Excavation would be required to determine whether the enclosed platform is the base of a cairn and whether there was any form of megalithic chamber here.OS Mem oirs, Raphoe parish (1836), 1, 27; Fagan 1845-8, book 10, 28; H. Morris 1939 (Beltany); O.D. 1939 (Beltany); Lacy 1983, 72-3, no. 329 (fig.); SMR 1987, 70:26B; Ó Nualláin 1995, 15; RMP 1995, 70:26/1. The above description was published in the 'Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI, County Donegal.' Compiled by: Eamon Cody (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). The Beltany Stone Circle (National Monument Number No. 463), consists of a disturbed artificial platform c. 0.5m high defined by a circle of large stones of which sixty-four remain but which originally may have numbered about eighty (Boyle-Somerville 1922-3, 212). The stones are of varying sizes and one of them on the NE is covered on the internal side with cupmarks (there is possibly one cupmark on the external side also). The interior of the site was considerably interfered with in the 1930's (Davies 1939b, 293). Great numbers of loose stones are now lying up against the perimeter megaliths and dotted about the surface of the interior. Several stones protrude from the surface of the interior and in the SW sector there is a standing stone 1m high, almost an equilateral triangle in plan, each side .6m. Partially exposed in the ground to the W of the standing stone is the top of a long stone, possibly that referred to by Davies as suggesting a megalithic chamber. To the SE of the circle is an out-lying standing stone (DG070-026002-) 2m high. Boyle-Somerville suggested that this outlier as well as other features of the adjacent horizon were employed by the circle builders to determine astronomical alignments. The circle is situated on the summit of Beltany Hill in good land with excellent views. Sixty metres to the SW of the stone circle and on a slight terrace just below the summit of the hill, is a circular area (DG070-025----) 35m in diameter, open on the W side but defined elsewhere by stone-wall field boundaries. The area is marked as a 'Graveyard' on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch maps and as an 'Old Graveyard' on the 2nd edition. It is not clear what the exact nature of this site was but its proximity to the stone circle might suggest that they were in some way related. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008

Beltany Stone Circle is likely Neolithic in origin, dating to around 2500–2000 BCE, and may have functioned as an astronomical or ceremonial site, given its hilltop location and alignment features. It is associated with early pagan traditions and later Christian folklore, with local stories linking it to the "Beltane fires" and ancient druidic rituals.