Inscribed stone in Rathmooley

Recovered from a hilltop enclosure (TS054-044----) situated in grassland on high ground with good panoramic views in all directions in upland region. An inscribed slab was uncovered during drainage works in a section of the inner fosse (Scott-O'Connell 1938, 125-6). The slab has since been destroyed but is described as being a 'roughly rectangular slab (type of stone unknown) divided into four sections by crossed lines and each section being engraved with figures and lines' (ibid.). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

Dated to the late prehistoric period, likely Bronze Age (c. 2500–500 BCE), the inscribed stone may have served a ritual or territorial function, possibly linked to early symbolic or proto-writing systems in the region. Its placement in a hilltop enclosure suggests it may have been part of a ceremonial or defensive landscape, though specific folklore or meaning remains unrecorded.