What is recorded here

Kealduff Upper holds a small flat-topped boulder marked with a cup and two rings, buried beneath dense furze on a mountain heath slope. The stone is so small and the growth so thick that it may vanish from human notice entirely. Yet it still faces the River Behy valley, keeping its marks exposed to rain, wind and the occasional person who finds it by chance.

This small, flat-topped boulder, whose upper surface is badly weathered, features traces of a cup-and-two rings. See attached drawing of rock art taken from O'Sullivan and Sheehan 1996, Fig. 65 (b) The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 343. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. In mountain heath (150m OD), on a general NE-facing slope; Good views all around especially N->E->SE where overlooking the River Behy valley. Not located. According to O’Sullivan & Sheehan (1996, 101; Fig. 65b), this small, flat-topped boulder, whose upper surface is badly weathered, features traces of a cup-and-two rings. The SMR file states that this rock art is located ‘just E of the field wall and trackway’. Dense growth of furze (H 0.50-0.60m) across this area inhibits grazing and obscures low profile rocks and boulders. According to SMR file the ’boulder measures 0.6m N-S, 0.7m E-W’, which is a small stone that would be very difficult to see in this vegetation. Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 5 July 2017

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the cup-and-two-rings motif is commonly associated with ritual or symbolic practices, possibly linked to water sources or territorial markers. Similar motifs appear across Atlantic Europe and may have had ceremonial or astronomical significance.

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