When visiting the circle at Oughtihery (W) (County Cork) I really didn't expect to see this 4m+ monster standing stone so close by.
It is 40cm thick and 1m+ wide and aligned east-west. There is a small flat-topped stump of a stone a few metres away from it. Looking at it 'flat on' it is quite rounded, but 'edge on' it is very pointed. A lovely stone that certainly adds to the nearby stone circle.
Despite this lying on the line of the circle's axis I think the 200m gap makes these two separate monuments that are linked by the hill above. This is highlighted by the fact that the long axis of this stone is aligned on the peak.
This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide. Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate. Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies. The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out. UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system. ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps. |