Bohonagh
Bohonagh is an axial stone circle located a mile and a half east of Rosscarbery, County Cork. The circle is thought to date from the Bronze Age. A boulder burial is sited nearby[1] (at grid reference W308368).[2]
Features
The stone circle comprised 13 stones set in a circle with a diameter of 30 ft. Four out of the 13 stones are missing and three were re-erected after excavation. Two portal stones are set radially on an east–west axis to the recumbent stones and are 8 feet high. At this height, these stone are among the tallest of any Irish stone circle. The axis from these stones to the large axial-stone on the west side, points to sunset at the equinoxes.[1] Many of the stones have quartz inclusions and many small pieces of quartz are associated with the circle.[3]
A boulder burial is sited 66 feet east of the circle, and its large capstone (weighing almost 20 tons[3]) has seven or more small cup-marks on the upper surface. Two of the three small supporting stones are of quartz and a fourth has been uprooted. A nearby loose slab also features cup-marks. The complex, which included a wooden house (which had been excavated) is of Bronze Age date.[1]
Excavations
In 1959 the site was excavated and a central pit containing charcoal and cremated bone was found.[3]
Location
- Location map: 51°34’50"N, 8°59’59"W
- OSI map: W30763688
Outside links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Weir, A (1980). Early Ireland. A Field Guide. Belfast: Blackstaff Press. p. 113.
- ↑ Megalithic Portal: Bohonagh
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Bohonagh Recumbent Stone Circle - Co. Cork". Megalithics.com. http://www.megalithics.com/ireland/bohonagh/bonomain.htm.
- McNally, Kenneth (2006). "Ireland's Ancient Stones" (Belfast: Appletree Press). ISBN 0-86281-996-2
