Standing stone, Cill Urlaí, Co. Kerry
Co. Kerry |
Stone Monuments
A standing stone that does not appear on Ordnance Survey maps occupies a quiet stretch of east-sloping pasture in Cill Urlaí, just north of the Cools river in County Kerry.
Its absence from the maps is not the only thing that sets it apart. The stone is almost square in elevation, which is an unusual proportion for a monument of this type; most standing stones tend toward the tall and narrow, raised as markers, memorials, or boundary indicators across the prehistoric and early medieval landscape of Ireland. This one measures 1.25 metres high and 1.35 metres wide at the base, making it fractionally broader than it is tall, with an average thickness of just 0.2 metres. It leans gently to the west, and is orientated along a north-south axis.
Standing stones, sometimes called galláin in Irish, are among the most difficult prehistoric monuments to date precisely. They were erected across many centuries, and their original purposes varied considerably, from territorial markers to ritual focal points to commemorations of the dead. This particular example sits within the broader archaeological landscape of the Iveragh Peninsula, the large southwest Kerry landmass better known as the Ring of Kerry, which contains a remarkable concentration of prehistoric and early medieval remains. It was documented as part of a comprehensive survey of south Kerry compiled by A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan, published by Cork University Press in 1996, which drew together records of monuments across this densely layered region.