Anomalous stone group, Dromatimore, Co. Cork
Co. Cork |
Stone Monuments
Three reddish standing stones in a field above the Delehinagh River in mid-Cork have been catalogued, measured, and then quietly filed under a category that essentially means nobody is quite sure what they are.
The label "anomalous" in archaeological classification is not a casual shrug; it signals that a group of stones does not fit the recognised patterns of an alignment, a stone circle, or any other monument type with a clear typological home. These three simply sit in their field, not quite anything.
What is known is this: two of the stones, designated A and C, stand close together, while a third, stone B, is positioned roughly three metres away from stone A. All three are broadly similar in height, ranging from just under a metre to just over, and they carry that distinctive reddish colouring that suggests a particular local geology. The site overlooks the Delehinagh River in the Dromatimore area of County Cork, and the University College Cork survey that recorded them found no visible surface trace of any associated feature, such as a kerb, platform, or pit, that might clarify their original purpose or arrangement. Whether they are the remnant of something larger that has been lost to agriculture, or whether they always stood in this sparse configuration, remains an open question.