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Cloghfin is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Newry and Mourne, Northern Ireland. The monument is also known as the White Stone of Watching, Calliagh Birra's Stone and Calliagh Berra's Stone, names that reflect its long presence in local tradition and oral history. Standing stones of this type were erected during the Bronze Age, typically between 2000 and 500 BCE, and often marked territorial boundaries, assembly places or ritual sites within prehistoric communities.
The stone rises from bedrock of the Gala Group, a formation of wacke deposited during the Telychian period of the Silurian era, which dominates the geology of this region. This underlying geology would have been well known to Bronze Age communities who selected and worked the stone. The monument's enduring local names suggest it held significance in watching or guarding the landscape, a function common to such prominently placed stones.
Cloghfin is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 6035, securing its preservation for future study and ensuring its place within the archaeological record of Newry and Mourne. The stone remains an important witness to Bronze Age settlement patterns and the ritual or territorial practices of ancient communities in this part of Ulster.
The cloghfin, the white stone of watching, calliagh birras stone, cloghfin, calliagh berras stone. standing stone is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 6035. View the official record →
Cloghfin is a Bronze Age standing stone located in Newry and Mourne, Northern Ireland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 6035.
The cloghfin, the white stone of watching, calliagh birras stone, cloghfin, calliagh berras stone. standing stone dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a standing stone. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
The cloghfin, the white stone of watching, calliagh birras stone, cloghfin, calliagh berras stone. standing stone is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 6035.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including The dorsy entrenchment, the dorsey entrenchment. large earthwork enclosure (0.7 km), Cashel (3.8 km), Mcpartland's forth. double ringed cashel & souterrain (3.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of The cloghfin, the white stone of watching, calliagh birras stone, cloghfin, calliagh berras stone. standing stone's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
The cloghfin, the white stone of watching, calliagh birras stone, cloghfin, calliagh berras stone. standing stone stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.