Ballymeanoch

Ballymeanoch is a prehistoric stone arrangement in Kilmartin Glen made up of four tall upright stones in a line, two parallel stones nearby, and a separate stone featuring a hole drilled through it. The central stones of the main row contain over seventy cup marks carved deliberately into their surfaces.

The stone row was built around 2000 BC as part of a wider group of Stone Age monuments in the valley. The cup marks carved into the surfaces show that people continued to use and modify the site over many centuries.

The stones once served as gathering places for ritual ceremonies and connected early communities to their landscape. Standing between them today, visitors can sense how these monuments marked important moments in the lives of ancient people.

Access the site from the Dunchraigaig Cairn parking area on the A819, then walk across fields to reach the stones. The ground is open and often wet or uneven, so sturdy footwear is helpful for a comfortable visit at any time of year.

The tallest stone featuring a hole through its center was still standing upright in the 1800s but was moved flat in 1977. This shift reveals that the monument was not permanently fixed but changed shape across different periods.