Timber Circle from Ballygawley
The remains of the more than 4000 year old Timber Circle of Ballygawley (also Ballygawly) were discovered in 2006/7 by archaeologists in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland as part of the route investigation during the construction of the new connection of the A4 with the A5 (roads) south of the town of Ballygawley ( Irish Baile Uí Dhálaigh ) exposed.
The circle of wooden stakes consists of two concentric rings that overlay an older row of large pits. The outer circle is about 16 m in diameter and includes square pits with posts connected by wattle. This made it impossible to observe activities in the circle from outside. This is in contrast to other wooden circles in the British Isles . The circle has a large trapezoidal extension on one side (similar to the Iron Age keyhole ditch on north German burial mounds). A row of closely spaced, particularly large posts along the front formed an impressive facade.
Timber Circles are a group of monuments made up of erected stakes, which usually form several nested circles. The shape and size of the Timber Circles vary widely. The find is significant as very few Timber Circles have been excavated in Northern Ireland. According to Kirsty Dingwall, radiocarbon dating confirmed that the facility was built around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. BC, although some elements may be older. The circle is an example of a relatively rare type of monument from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages .
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Coordinates: 54 ° 27 '38.5 " N , 7 ° 1' 22.2" W.