What is recorded here

Eighteen stones radiate like spokes under a buried cairn on the Maughanaclea Hills, joining a five-stone circle and pair of standing stones in one unusual complex. The chamber holds three large sockets and two broad stones bridged by smaller ones, while scattered scallop fragments hint that distant seas once entered this remote upland ritual. People may have gathered there to mark loss, celebrate birth or negotiate with forces larger than themselves, using stone to give shape what breath cannot hold.

On level bog-covered shoulder on NW-facing slope of W end of Maughanaclea Hills. Complex, which also includes five-stone circle (CO106-00601-) and pair of standing stones (CO106-00602-), excavated in 1938 (O Ríordáin 1939,46-49). Cairn stands c. 2m SE of standing stones and 5m E of circle. Excavation revealed ring of eighteen radially-set stones and sockets (diam. c. 6m), under remains of cairn spread 1m beyond stones. Three large, round closely-set sockets, in trench, aligned NE-SW, were found on NW perimeter of cairn. Lying on surface beneath cairn towards W were two large stones with arc of smaller stones between them. Three fragments of scallop shells found 0.3m below cairn surface. (O Nualláin 1984b, 75, no. 13) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009 This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 69/1938).

Radial-stone cairn, likely dating to the Neolithic or early Bronze Age. Its association with a stone circle and standing stones suggests ritual or ceremonial significance within a broader prehistoric landscape.

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