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Although not an especially significant example, Drombeg is one of the most visited megalithic sites in Ireland, and is protected under the National Monuments Act.It was excavated in 1958, when the cremated remains of an adolescent was found in a pot in the circle's center.

Drombeg stone circle (also known as The Druid's Altar), is a small axial stone circle located 2.4 km (1.5 mi) east of Glandore, County Cork, Ireland.
Drombeg stone circle
Ciorcal an Droma Bhig
DrombegStoneCircle 2004.jpg
Drombeg site, looking south
Location of site in IrelandLocation of site in Ireland
Location of site in Ireland
Alternative name
Druid's Altar
Location
County Cork, Ireland
Irish Grid: W245352)
Coordinates
51.56456°N 9.08702°W
Type
Axial stone circle
Area
9.3 metres (31 ft) (diameter)
Height
1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) (highest stone)
History
Periods
Bronze Age[1] to early Iron Age[2]
Site notes
Archaeologists
Edward M. Fahy (1957)
Management
National Monument Service
Public access
Yes
National Monument of Ireland

Although not an especially significant example, Drombeg is one of the most visited megalithic sites in Ireland, and is protected under the National Monuments Act. It was excavated in 1958, when the cremated remains of an adolescent was found in a pot in the circle's center.
Site at Drombeg
The stone circle originally consisted of seventeen closely spaced stones of which 13 survive. The stones are made from local sandstone. The circle spans 9.3 metres (31 ft) in diameter. As an axial or "Cork–Kerry" stone circle, it contains two taller entrance stones placed opposite a recumbent axial stone. Its axis is orientated south west towards the setting sun.


The most westerly stone (1.9m long) is the long recumbent and has two egg shaped cup-marks, one with a ring around it. An axial stone circle, also known as a "Cork–Kerry type" stone circle, it is flanked by a pair of 1.8m high axial portal stones, which mark the entrance to the stone circle, and face the recumbent altar stone.This arrangement creates a south-west axis, and orients the monument in the direction of the setting sun during the midwinter solstice.

Near the stone circle, approximately 40m to the west, are two round stone-walled prehistoric huts and a fulacht fiadh. Evidence suggests the fulacht fiadh was in use until approximately the 5th century AD. Of the two huts, the largest had a timber roof supported by timber posts. The smaller hut contains the remains of a cooking sport on its eastern side. A causeway leads from the huts to the fulacht fiadh, which has a hearth, well and a water trough.
Following a number of surveys in the early 1900s, the site was excavated and restored in 1957. Radiocarbon dating of samples taken from the site suggest that it was active c. 1100 - 800 BC. An inverted pot, found in the centre of the circle, contained the cremated remains of a young adolescent wrapped with thick cloth. The pot was found close to the centre of the circle and was found alongside smashed sherds and a collection of sweepings from a pyre.

A stone circle is a circular alignment of standing stones. They are commonly found across Northern Europe and Great Britain, and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age eras, with most concentrations appearing from 3000 BC. The best known examples include those at the henge monument at Avebury, the Rollright Stones, and elements within the ring of standing stones at Stonehenge. Ancient stone circles appear throughout Europe, with many existing in the Pyrenees, on the Causse de Blandas in southern France in the Cevennes, in the Alps, and Bulgaria.


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Bryn Cader Faner, North Wales
Stone circles are usually grouped in terms of the shape and size of the stones, the span of their radius, and their population within the local area. Although many theories have been advanced to explain their use, usually related to providing a setting for ceremony or ritual, there is no consensus among archaeologists as to their intended function. Their construction often involved considerable communal effort, including specialist tasks such as planning, quarrying, transportation, laying the foundation trenches, and final construction.

Menhir
Large upright standing stone

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