Standing stone, Glenalla, Co. Donegal

Co. Donegal |

Stone Monuments

Standing stone, Glenalla, Co. Donegal

In the quiet woods of Glenalla, County Donegal, a solitary standing stone rises two metres from the forest floor.

This ancient monument, measuring 72 centimetres wide at its base and 40 centimetres thick, stands oriented east to west on level ground amongst the trees. The stone bears intriguing marks of both ancient craftsmanship and more recent human interaction; its southern face features a deliberately bored hole, 4 centimetres in diameter and 8 centimetres deep, whilst the northern face displays two sets of carved initials, likely added by visitors in more recent centuries.

The precise purpose of this standing stone remains a mystery, as is often the case with these enigmatic monuments scattered across Ireland's landscape. The artificially created hole on the southern face suggests deliberate modification, possibly for ritual purposes or as part of some practical function now lost to time. Standing stones like this one date back thousands of years and served various roles in prehistoric communities, from territorial markers to astronomical alignments, ceremonial sites, or memorial monuments.

This particular stone was documented as part of the Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, a comprehensive catalogue of the county's field antiquities spanning from the Mesolithic period through to the 17th century. Compiled by Brian Lacey and his team of archaeologists in 1983, the survey represents one of the most thorough archaeological inventories in Ireland, preserving vital information about monuments that might otherwise fade from memory as the landscape continues to change around them.

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