Breeny More Stone Circle

Breeny More Stone Circle is an axial stone circle and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland.^[3][4][5]

Breeny More Stone Circle
Native name Liagchiorcal na mBruíne Móra (Irish)
Location of Breeny More Stone Circle in Ireland
Type	axial stone circle
Location	Breeny More, Kealkill, County Cork, Ireland
Coordinates	51.742145°N 9.375097°W / 51.742145; -9.375097
Elevation	134 m (440 ft)
Height	2.42 m (8 feet)[1]
Built	1500–1000 BC
Owner	Office of Public Works
National monument of Ireland
Official name	Breeny More[2]
Reference no.	450

Location

Breeny More Stone Circle is situated 1 km (0.62 mi) southeast of Kealkill, overlooking Bantry Bay to the west. Another stone circle lies 175 m (574 ft) to the northeast.^[6][7][8]

History

Boulder burials of this type are believed to date from the middle Bronze Age, i.e. 1500–1000 BC.^[9] The toponym is from the Irish brúine móra, "great dwellings of the fairies."^[10][11]

Description

This is a stone circle with four boulder burials. The circle has two entrance stones and an axial stone, with a main axis measuring 14 m (46 ft). It has a southeast–northwest axis, facing the rising sun.^[12][13]

A "boulder burial" is a single large boulder sitting on three or four support stones; the term was coined by Seán Ó Nualláin in the 1970s. They are generally found in the southwest, and associated with standing stones and stone circles; some dispute that there were ever burial sites, as no human remains have ever been recovered.^[9]