What is recorded here

Crannagh holds faint cup marks and rings on a low boulder beside the Mountain River, witnessing human presence on the southwest slopes of Mount Leinster. The stones sit beneath Knockroe and Brandon Hill, suggesting people marked this narrow valley during seasons when its borders could be read at a glance. What they recorded has faded, but the cups remain sharp enough to touch and remember.

Situated on the lower, S facing slopes of the Mountain River valley on the SW slopes of Mount Leinster. The summit of Mount Leinster dominates the head of the valley at the NE, and the summit of Knockroe dominates the view to the S. Elsewhere, the views out of the valley have quite a restricted visual field in a SW direction only, and are dominated by Brandon Hill and the Coppanagh Hills, as well as the distant summit of Slievenamon, Co. Tipperary. A large, low-level earthfast boulder (2m NW-SE, 1.6m NE-SW, H 0.2m) the surface of which falls 15cm from NW to SE. Near the W edge is a small cup mark (diam. 4cm; D 1cm) enclosed by four circles. The outer circle has a diam. of 32cm. Nearby is a cup (diam. 3.5cm; D 0.5cm) enclosed by a single ring, beside which is a cup (diam. 4cm; D 1cm) enclosed by two rings (total diam. 20cm). Near the centre of the stone are two further cup marks. All the motifs are very faint. Immediately to the N is another low-level boulder on which there are no markings. Compiled by: Claire Breen and Chris Corlett Date of upload: 5 October 2011

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the rock art in Crannagh may have held ritual or symbolic significance, possibly linked to landscape features or seasonal cycles. Its alignment or motifs could reflect early agricultural practices or spiritual beliefs associated with mountainous terrain.

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