51°34′48″N8°59′56″W / 51.580102°N 8.998987°W /51.580102; -8.998987Bohonagh is anaxial stone circle located 2.4 km east ofRosscarbery,County Cork,Ireland. The circle is thought to date from theBronze Age. A boulder burial is sited nearby[1] (grid ref: 308 368).[2]
The stone circle comprised 13 stones set in a circle with a diameter of 30 feet (9 m). Four out of the 13 stones are missing and three were re-erected after excavation. Twoportal stones are set radially on an east–west axis to the recumbent stones and are 240 centimetres (7 ft 10 in) high. At just under 8 feet (2.4 m), these stone are among the tallest of any Irish stone circle. The axis from these stones to the large axial-stone on the west side, points to sunset at theequinoxes.[1] Many of the stones have quartz inclusions and many small pieces ofquartz are associated with the circle.[3]
A boulder burial (dolmen) is sited 20 metres (70 ft) east of the circle, and its large capstone (weighing almost 20 tons[3]) has seven or more smallcup-marks on the upper surface. Two of the three small supporting stones are ofquartz and a fourth has been uprooted. A nearby loose slab also features cup-marks. The complex, which included a wooden house (which had beenexcavated) is of Bronze Age date.[1]
In 1959 the site was excavated and a central pit containing charcoal and cremated bone was found.[3]
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