Stone Circle

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Eight regularly-spaced stones enclosing an oval area (7m by 4m), reputedly exposed by Lord Clermont c. 1840 (CLAJ 1906, 96). The OS 1:2500 sheet (1907) shows five stones, concentric with the circle, to the E. The sites of four standing stones (LH004-002002-, LH004-002003-, LH004-002004- and LH004-002005-) lie 40m SW of the monument. Tempest (CLAJ 1942, 128-32) suggests that the origins of the monument may be doubtful owing to the small area of the circle, the surface mobility of the stones and the irregular spacing. This may be partly explained by the original lowering of the ground level around the stones to reveal them and their constant re-setting by estate workmen. Borlase (1897, vol. 2, 421) records the location of the site, or one exactly similar, as being at Dromiskin. This was also a Clermont estate, and thus confusion may have arisen. The site has been suggested as part of landscaping by Lord Clermont, but may equally be part of a genuine prehistoric site, though Davies (UJA 1939, 13) does note that it does not conform to any known circle type.

Likely dating to the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, the stone circle at Ravensdale Park may have functioned as a ceremonial or ritual site, possibly aligned with astronomical events. While no specific folklore is recorded, such circles are often associated with ancient beliefs in the afterlife and seasonal cycles.