Standing stone, Craan, Co. Wexford

Co. Wexford |

Stone Monuments

Standing stone, Craan, Co. Wexford

At the foot of Carrig hill in County Wexford, a single upright stone rises just 1.4 metres from the ground, modest enough to be easily overlooked and old enough that nobody can say with certainty why it was put there.

What makes it quietly arresting is its deliberateness: a rectangular cross-section, a pointed profile, and an orientation aligned to the northwest-southeast axis, none of which happen by accident. Standing stones of this kind are prehistoric markers, erected anywhere from the Neolithic period through the Bronze Age, and they appear across Ireland in enormous variety, from towering monoliths to stones barely knee-high. Their purposes remain genuinely contested, with theories ranging from territorial markers and burial indicators to astronomical alignments and waypoints along ancient routeways.

This particular stone sits on a gentle west-facing slope, positioned just where the gradient eases before the steeper hillside of Carrig rises behind it. Its dimensions, roughly 0.95 metres by 0.7 metres at the base, give it a solid, planted quality despite its relatively low height. The pointed top and careful rectangular shaping suggest this was not simply a convenient field stone left in place but something selected, or shaped, for the purpose. Its northwest-southeast orientation has attracted no specific recorded explanation, though such alignments in standing stones across Ireland are sometimes associated with solar or lunar events, particularly the movements of the sun at the solstices.

Rated 0 out of 5

Visitor Notes

Review type for post source and places source type not found
Added by
Picture of Pete F
Pete F
IrishHistory.com is passionate about helping people discover and connect with the rich stories of their local communities.
Please use the form below to submit any photos you may have of Standing stone, Craan, Co. Wexford. We're happy to take any suggested edits you may have too. Please be advised it will take us some time to get to these submissions. Thank you.
Name
Email
Message
Upload images/documents
Maximum file size: 100 MB
If you'd like to add an image or a PDF please do it here.

Advertisement