Lankill Standing Stone (original) (raw)

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Standing stone in County Mayo, Ireland

Lankill Standing Stone
Native name Gallán Lainn Chille (Irish)
Location of Lankill Standing Stone in Ireland
Type	Standing stone
Location	Lankill, Aughagower,County Mayo, Ireland
Coordinates	53°45′12″N 9°30′06″W / 53.753238°N 9.501742°W / 53.753238; -9.501742
Elevation	47 m (154 ft)
Height	2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Built	2000 BC or later
National monument of Ireland
Official name	Lankill Standing Stone
Reference no.	296

Lankill Standing Stone is a standing stone and National Monument located in County Mayo, Ireland.[1]

Lankill Standing Stone stands in a field 2.7 km (1.7 mi) west-southwest of Aughagower, south of Knappaghbeg Lough. Toberbrendan, an early monastic site, is immediately to the southwest.[2]

The stone possibly dates to the Bronze Age period but was Christianised centuries later with a cross carved on it.[3]

The purpose of standing stones is unclear; they may have served as boundary markers, ritual or ceremonial sites, burial sites or astrological alignments.[4]

The stone is a spike of shale 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) tall. On the west face is a cross with a V-shaped ornament beneath it, and on the east face is a Latin cross in a double circle and four concentric circles; this probably indicates a "pagan" monument that was later appropriated by Christians.[5][6]

1. ^ "National Monuments in State Care : Ownership & Guardianship : Mayo" (PDF). Archaeology.ie. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
2. ^ Harbison, Peter (1 April 1995). Pilgrimage in Ireland: The Monuments and the People. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815603122 – via Google Books.
3. ^ "Heritage - Croagh Patrick Knock Heritage trail". Croaghpatrickknockheritagetrail.ie.
4. ^ Ryan, Áine. "CULTURE Legacy of Lankill". The Mayo News.
5. ^ "LANKILL CROSS PILLAR/MEGALITHIC MONUMENTS OF IRELAND". Megalithixcmonumentsofireland.com. 2011.
6. ^ "Some Spared Stones of Ireland". Irishmegaliths.org.