What is recorded here

Gallaun is a tall standing stone in County Kerry, Ireland, aligned north-south beside a boulder-burial. It stands 2.5m high, widens slightly as it rises, then tapers toward the top. Lynch recorded three stones protruding above ground nearby in 1902, including a central white quartz boulder. The field is now ploughed, leaving only one prostrate stone that formerly stood upright.

A tall standing stone (KE097-017002-), marked 'Gallaun' on the second edition of the OS maps, is aligned N-S and occurs 4m to N of the boulder-burial. The stone widens marginally as it rises and then tapers inwards toward the top. It stands 2.5m high and measures 1.08m x .3m at base. Lynch recorded an 'alignment' of stones adjacent to the boulder-burial at N, three of the stones protruding one foot (.3m) above the ground surface (1902b, 336). The central stone was a boulder of white quartz. Today the field is ploughed and only one prostrate stone, 1.35m long and located 1m NW of the boulder-burial, survives. It formerly stood upright (local information). The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 379. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 28 July 2013

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, this standing stone may have had ritual or funerary significance, given its proximity to a boulder-burial. Such stones often marked territorial boundaries or were associated with ancestor veneration.

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