Knocknakilla is the site of a megalithic complex () situated between

Macroom Macroom (; ga, Maigh Chromtha) is a market town in County Cork, Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane, halfway between Cork city and Killarney. Its population has grown and receded over the centuries as it went through periods of ...

and

Millstreet Millstreet () is a town in north County Cork, Ireland, with a population of 1,555 (as of 2016). Millstreet is within the civil parish of Drishane, and within a Poor Law Union also called Millstreet. The Millstreet Union encompasses the civil ...

, in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is set in blanket

peatland A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types ...

on the north-west upper slopes of Musherabeg mountain and is thought to be 3500 years old.

Environment

The mid-Cork area is rich in archaeological artifacts, and the surrounding townlands contain two cashels, a ringfort, two

fulacht fiadh A burnt mound is an archaeological feature consisting of a mound of shattered stones and charcoal, normally with an adjacent hearth and trough. The trough could be rock-cut, wood-lined or clay-lined to ensure it was watertight. Radiocarbon ...

, a possible

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought north ...

and a circular enclosure. The word Knocknakilla is derived from the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

''Cnoc na Cille'', as 'The Hill of the Church'.

Description

The site is located is on a level patch of bogland overlooking a deep valley and comprises a recumbent stone circle, a

radial cairn Radial is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Mathematics and Direction * Vector (geometric), a line * Radius, adjective form of * Radial distance, a directional coordinate in a polar coordinate system * Radial set * A bearing fr ...

and two pointy

portal stones This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic ( Stone Age) structures. Forecourt In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. Forecourts ...

(one of which has fallen), aligned north-northeast to south-southwest. The stone circle is made up of five 1.3- to 1.5-metre-high stones, of which two (the axis and east sidestone) fell sometime in the last 50 years. Three meters away is a 10-stone, 3.5-metre-diameter, radial cairn which was first discovered by Coillte Teoranta in 1970. The upright standing stone is 3.7 metres tall, and it leans heavily to the north. Knocknakilla is best known for its large phallic, now leaning, portal stone. Given the stones' relation to both the rising and setting sun, it is thought that they were aligned with purpose and functionality in mind, likely as calendars to early farmers,Cork County Council, Information plaque located near the site. probably related to harvest or fertility ceremonies.

References

Sources

*Power, Denis. ''Archaeological inventory of County Cork'', Volume 3: Mid Cork, 9467 ColorBooks, 1997.

External links

Megalithic Ireland - Photographs of Knocknakilla Stone Circle
{{coord, 52.00680, -9.02448, type:landmark_region:IE_source:enwiki-irishgridref(W297843), display=title Megalithic monuments in Ireland Archaeological sites in County Cork National Monuments in County Cork

Environment

Description

See also

References

Sources

External links