Standing stone, Aughavanlomaun, Co. Tipperary
Co. Tipperary |
Stone Monuments
A standing stone that refuses to be straightforward sits in the small river valley of the Aughavanlomaun Stream in County Tipperary.
It leans noticeably westward, yet its top surface rises to a peak on the eastern side, giving it a slightly contradictory character. Its long axis runs north to south, but the stone itself appears to be orientated east to west, a detail that resists easy interpretation and makes it harder to slot into the usual frameworks for understanding why prehistoric communities positioned these stones as they did.
The stone is made of sandstone conglomerate, a rock formed from compressed ancient sediments and pebbles, and measures roughly 0.8 metres across at its widest, narrowing towards the southern end where it becomes more irregular in plan. It stands just over a metre tall. A small companion stone sits at its base on the western side, which may be original to the monument or may simply have accumulated there over time. The setting is notably enclosed: rising hills to the north and south restrict the view considerably, so whatever the stone's original purpose, it was not placed here to command a wide prospect. There is, however, one significant sight line. On the hill to the south, a stone pair is visible from this spot, suggesting that the monuments in this small valley were not placed in isolation but as part of a broader, if now only partially legible, arrangement across the landscape.
