Bohonagh

51°34′48″N 8°59′56″W / 51.580102°N 8.998987°W / 51.580102; -8.998987 Bohonagh is an axial stone circle located 2.4 km east of Rosscarbery, County Cork, Ireland. The circle is thought to date from the Bronze Age. A boulder burial is sited nearby^[1] (grid ref: 308 368).^[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 240 cm high. At just under 8 ft, 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 20m 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]

References

Sources

• McNally, Kenneth (2006). "Ireland's Ancient Stones" (Belfast: Appletree Press). ISBN 0-86281-996-2

External links

• Irish Megaliths - Photographs of Bohonagh
• Megalithic Ireland - Photographs of Bohonagh Stone Circle
• Irish Antiquities - Bohonagh Boulder Burial and Stone Circle^{[permanent dead link]}

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This page was last edited on 23 November 2023, at 15:51