What is recorded here

Half a metre of conifer soil and pine needles have smothered the cupmarks Desmond recorded in 1999. The oblong boulder still lies at the north end of the Kealduff valley, but the forest has grown around it like a fist closing. What was marked is hidden now, not lost. The wood has taken back the stone's shape, leaving only the memory of cups pressed into rock beneath the needles.

In a coniferous wood, in rough boggy pasture at the N end of the valley of the Kealduff River. An oblong boulder (L 3.96m; Wth 2.58m; H 1.35m) with at least two cupmarks was recorded by Desmond (1999, 60, Appendix 1) who also noted that trees had been planted to within 0.31m of the boulder. A subsequent site inspection in 2002 failed to locate this boulder due to dense undergrowth. A possible cupmarked stone (KE082-033002-) was recorded by Desmond (ibid.) c. 3m to the SW. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Kerry. Volume I: South-West Kerry' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 30 May 2011 In forestry plantation, on a gentle SE-facing slope (108m OD). This is an open area within the forestry plantation and no rock is present at this location. There is however a long rock outcrop (L 3.96m; Wth 2.50m; H 1.35m (max.) to W of this location which corresponds to the description given in the Archaeological Inventory for County Kerry (Byrne et al 2009, 63-64). The potential rock art site is partially covered with sod, mosses and layers of pine needles, however no rock art was seen on the portions of exposed rock face. Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 9 March 2017

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the cupmarked stone may have had ritual or ceremonial significance, possibly linked to water or land boundaries. Cupmarked stones are often associated with symbolic or spiritual practices in prehistoric communities.

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