Cupmarked stone in Kilmoon (sherkin Island)

In pasture on NE-facing slope overlooking Kinish Harbour. Recumbent stone (L 2.03m; Wth 1.05m) with fourteen cup-marks (max. diam. 0.08m) on its flat upper surface. Small stone (H 0.4m; 0.3m x 0.34m) embedded in ground abuts SE edge. According to local information, associated stones were removed in recent past. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, this cupmarked stone may have had ritual or ceremonial significance, possibly linked to water or fertility symbolism given its location near the harbour. Similar stones are often associated with wider ritual landscapes in Atlantic Europe.