Standing stone

Crowning a prominent hill. Revealed during recent turf-cutting and still partially buried in the bog. Aligned NE-SW and 2.7m apart. Both stones are of white quartz. The N stone is subrectangular in plan (H > 1m) and S stone, which is prostrate, is rectangular (H 1.65m). (Ó Nualláin 1988, 197) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, the pair of white quartz standing stones in Crocknaraw may have functioned as a ritual or ceremonial alignment, possibly linked to solar or seasonal markers given their NE-SW orientation. Such paired stones are sometimes associated with territorial markers, passage tombs, or early ritual sites in upland landscapes.