What is recorded here

Two stones stand nineteen metres apart in level pasture beside Ballycrovane Harbour, their long axis pointing north-northeast. The eastern stone carries a drilled hole and a sheared edge, as if something once passed through or broke away. The western stone is smaller, quieter, waiting at the other end of the line. Together they mark a distance the eye can judge but the purpose resists.

In level pasture, on S side of Ballycrovane Harbour. Stones stand 19.4m apart, long axis NNE-SSW. Most easterly stone (H 1.1m; 1.25m x 0.42m) has hole (diam. 3.5m) drilled through it. Angle of drill hole and concave surface of E face suggests part of east side sheared off. Stone to W measures 0.88m x 0.36m and is 0.75m H. 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

Probably dating to the Late Neolithic or Bronze Age, the standing stone with a drilled hole may have had ritual or ceremonial significance, possibly used for threading ropes or as part of a marker system. Such features are sometimes associated with local folklore, including beliefs about their use by fairies or as boundary markers.

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