Beaghmore Stones is an archaeological complex dating from the Bronze Age, comprising numerous stone circles and a few cairns, located in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, not far from Cookstown, in an active peat bog. Dating back to 1,500 BC, Beagmore Stone is in fact a recent discovery, and would have come to light in 1940, during the study of a still-active peat bog. The site is absolutely incredible, and is open to the public…
Beaghmore stones – © JRP Studio
In Neolithic times, the Beaghmore Stones site was a genuine forest, which was eventually cleared by Neolithic farmers to make way for working areas.
The first megaliths were erected on the site in 1500 BC. Some form circles, while others are arranged in the form of a Cairn (a kind of tomb with a corridor covered by a stone dome).
Over the centuries, the site was invaded by an imposing peat bog, which eventually completely concealed the megaliths.
The site was not discovered until many centuries later, in 1940, when scientists and archaeologists were probing a still-active peat bog southeast of Sperrin Mountain. The discovery was then formidable: there were 7 stone circles, as well as alignments, and 12 cairns… The site was deepened and excavated between 1945 and 1949, then abandoned until 1965, when new excavations began. Traces of prehistoric hearths, flint carvings and a polished axe were found in one of the cairns.
According to archaeologists, it is entirely possible that other Neolithic remains are present in a bog adjacent to the one where the Beaghmore Stones site was found.
If you’d like to discover the Beaghmore Stones site, you’ll have to travel about ten km from Cookstone. It’s a free show, and one of the most breathtaking. You’ll find 7 stone circles (6 of which are twinned), ranging from 10 to 20 metres in diameter.
Nearby, you’ll find numerous stone alignments of all sizes, arranged geometrically on either side of the stone circles.
Last but not least, 12 cairns – stone mounds covering a burial site – have been remarkably well preserved…
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