Standing stone in Cullaun

In undulating pasture, on the landscaped estate of Timoney Park. One of sixteen standing stones (TN018-012010-/013-; TN018-012018-/029-) that formed a circular pattern which was recorded as a stone circle by the Inspector of National Monuments in 1936 (SMR File). This field was known locally as the ‘racecourse field’ (Ryan 1980, 17). National Monument No. 353. Recorded in 1934-36 by the Inspector of National Monuments and marked as stone 9U on a map of a group of 221 standing stones, of which 173 stones were located in the townland of Timoney Hills and 48 standing stones in the adjoining townland of Cullaun. A map published in the Archaeological Survey of Ikerrin depicts 245 standing stones, 70 of which had been removed, and five cairns, which have also been removed (Stout 1984, 19). Thirteen of the twenty orthostats in this field were located. Present remains consist of a low recumbent grass-covered stone which may be the remains of the collapsed standing stone identified in 1934-36 as stone 9U. This group of standing stones in the townlands of Timoney Hills and Cullaun were described in 1936 by the Inspector of National Monuments as following: 'Though a number of stones have been eliminated, the remainder numbering 221 (173 in Timoney Hills and 48 in Cullaun) are a most remarkable group. The stones are not, apparently, arranged on any particular system except for one obvious stone circle in Cullaun. They are all of red sandstone or conglomerate of the same period and stand or stood from 3 to 6 feet [0.9-1.8m] in height over the ground, the average height of the larger ones being about 5 feet 1.5m]' (SMR File). The location of these stones on the Parker-Hutchinson estate of Timoney Park casts doubt on the antiquity of these monuments. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 20 February 2015

Likely dating to the Late Neolithic or Bronze Age, the standing stone in Cullaun may have been part of a ritual or ceremonial landscape associated with the wider stone circle. Such stones often held symbolic or astronomical significance, possibly linked to seasonal markers or ancestral worship.