Standing Stones

On level platform on steep NW-facing slope of narrow valley of Clodagh river. Row of three stones, aligned NE-SW, and 8.9m in overall length. NE stone is 0.9m L, 0.65m T and 1.2m H. Next and tallest stone, 2m to the SW, is 1.4m L, 0.8m T and 1.8m H. SW stone, 3.2m from last, is 1.25m L, 1.35m T and 1.7m H. OS 6-inch map (1842) depicts fourth stone to W of middle stone: this stone is not now present. Basal peat from test pit dug c. 5m N of row yielded a radiocarbon determination of 975 ± 45 bp (GrN-9282) (Lynch 1981, 111-3; O Nualláin 1988, 236, no. 42; Roberts 1988, Ch. 5, no. 41). 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

Likely dating to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age, the Cullenagh standing stones may have functioned as a ritual or ceremonial alignment, possibly linked to astronomical observations or territorial markers. No specific folklore is recorded, but such stone rows are often associated with funerary or ceremonial practices in prehistoric Ireland.