Lankill Standing Stone is a

standing stone A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright rock (geology), stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. T ...

and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

located in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, Ireland.

Location

Lankill Standing Stone stands in a field west-southwest of

Aughagower Aughagower or Aghagower () is a small village in rural County Mayo in western Ireland. It is located about 6 km from Westport. Aughagower has around 40 houses, 1 pub and a shop, with a clear view of Croagh Patrick from Reek View. It also ...

, south of Knappaghbeg Lough. Toberbrendan, an early monastic site, is immediately to the southwest.

History

The stone possibly dates to the Bronze Age period but was Christianised centuries later with a cross carved on it. The purpose of standing stones is unclear; they may have served as boundary markers, ritual or ceremonial sites, burial sites or astrological alignments.

Description

The stone is a spike of

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

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 Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

" monument that was later appropriated by Christians.

References

{{Reflist National monuments in County Mayo