Standing stone - pair, Dromavally, Co. Kerry

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Stone Monuments

Standing stone – pair, Dromavally, Co. Kerry

On a south-facing slope at the foot of the Reamore ridge in Dromavally, two large stones sit close together in a relationship that is quietly ambiguous.

One stands upright, or nearly so, leaning slightly to the north at a height of 2.32 metres, its base measuring 1.31 metres by 0.75 metres and oriented roughly east-north-east to west-south-west. The other, a slab 3.6 metres long, 1.15 metres wide, and at least 0.8 metres thick, lies flat on the ground just 2.5 metres to the east. Whether it fell, was pushed, or was always recumbent is unknown, though the archaeological record suggests it may once have stood upright alongside its companion.

If that is the case, this would have been a pair of standing stones, a type of monument found across prehistoric Ireland and often associated with ritual or commemorative functions, sometimes aligned with celestial events, sometimes simply marking a boundary or a route through the landscape. The Dingle Peninsula is unusually rich in such monuments, and the 1986 Corca Dhuibhne archaeological survey compiled by J. Cuppage documented this site among dozens of others scattered across the headland. The Reamore ridge above Dromavally would have provided a visible backdrop for the stones, and the south-facing slope means they would catch light through much of the day, a detail that may or may not have mattered to whoever erected them, perhaps four thousand or more years ago.

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