In County Galway, Ireland, everyone can admire the amazing stone, which was once placed in the area of the ring fort Firvor. Later, the stone was moved to the vicinity of the Turua house. The stone has a rounded shape and is decorated with patterns made in the ancient Celtic technique "la tené".
The Turua Stone is the most striking and best-preserved example of this decorative stone work in Europe. However, what purpose did this stone serve? Nobody knows the exact answer to this question.
The top of the stone is covered with traditional Gallic abstract designs in the La Tene technique, making it somewhat reminiscent of another similar Castlestrange Stone found in County Roscommon. Concentric spirals in La Tene technique are engraved in high relief at a depth of about three centimeters. Some researchers suggest that the high-relief decoration on the Turua stone is a specific primitive sacral imitation of a map of a particular site or even the globe.
Given the characteristic, close to phallic shape of the stone, some experts suggest that the stone was used in rituals aimed at increasing fertility in all its forms.
Another version connects the English spelling of the name Turoe with the phrase "Cloch an Tuair Rua", which means "stone of the red wasteland." The presence of the word "red", according to researchers, may hint that sacrifices were practiced at the stone, including human ones.
In the last years of the 19th century, this stone was transferred to a place three kilometers from Bullown on the Turua farm, from the mysterious lyos - a tract of magical power according to the mythological ideas of the inhabitants of Ireland, in which it was located for a long time. Apparently, there was a need to save the precious stone from acts of vandalism, but the origin of the historical monument still remains unknown. The most common hypothesis among historians of Celtic art is the theory of the Gaulish origin of the stone, which was brought to Ireland from the territory of modern France. After that, during the period of Celtic strife, the stone was transported as part of the family heritage in order to save it from military destruction. As for the religious (sacred function), as well as its ritual role,at the moment it is rather difficult to establish its purpose.
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The original location of the mysterious stone was attempted to be established by art critic George Coffey, who published in 1904 a scientific study (dissertation) on the La Tene technique, in which he suggested that the stone was transferred from a stone fort in the settlement of Firvor.
In 2007 it was proposed to move the stone from its then location to Lowfrey. The reasoning behind this proposal was that the stone can become easily vulnerable. Nevertheless, a group of oppositionists led by Karl Nolan firmly rejected this kind of "encroachment" on the sacred stone.
The original location of the stone is outside the town of Firvor, three kilometers from the Bullaun site. Enough data was collected indicating that the stone used to be located in an open area for many centuries BC, but due to unknown circumstances this area turned out to be hidden.