| Breeny More Stone Circle | |
| Native Name: | Liagchiorcal na mBruíne Móra |
| Native Language: | ga |
| Elevation: | 134m (440feet) |
| Coordinates: | 51.7421°N -9.3751°W |
| Location: | Breeny More, Kealkill, County Cork, Ireland |
| Built: | 1500–1000 BC |
| Owner: | Office of Public Works |
| Type: | axial stone circle |
| Height: | 2.42 m (8 feet)[1] |
| Designation1: | National Monument of Ireland |
| Designation1 Offname: | Breeny More[2] |
| Designation1 Number: | 450 |
Breeny More Stone Circle is an axial stone circle and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland.[3] [4] [5]
Breeny More Stone Circle is situated 1km (01miles) southeast of Kealkill, overlooking Bantry Bay to the west. Another stone circle lies 175m (574feet) to the northeast.[6] [7] [8]
Boulder burials of this type are believed to date from the middle Bronze Age, i.e. 1500–1000 BC.[9] The toponym is from the Irish brúine móra, "great dwellings of the fairies."[10] [11]
This is a stone circle with four boulder burials. The circle has two entrance stones and an axial stone, with a main axis measuring 14m (46feet). It has a southeast–northwest axis, facing the rising sun.[12] [13]
A "boulder burial" is a single large boulder sitting on three or four support stones; the term was coined by Seán Ó Nualláin in the 1970s. They are generally found in the southwest, and associated with standing stones and stone circles; some dispute that there were ever burial sites, as no human remains have ever been recovered.[9]