Rock art in Fegart

In the NW corner of a pasture field, on elevated ground on the NE edge of Doagh Island. The location has excellent views N and E over Trawbreaga Bay, with the long stretch of Malin peninsula beyond; to W ground rises gradually in a series of small hills and rocky peaks; higher hills and mountainous peaks form a dramatic distant backdrop at SW. Rock art is visible on one of a cluster of bedrock boulders protrude from a low grassy rise, now partly obscured by piles of loose field clearance stones and woody debris. The NW edge of this bedrock slab (c. 2.3m NE-SW; c. 1m NW-SE) rises c. 0.25m above ground level and slopes down gently to SE where it dips beneath the ground surface. The exposed decorated surface (c. 1.4m E-SW; c. 0.65m NW-SE) is at the SW end of the stone, and is relatively smooth and fine-textured. It bears two cup-and-ring motifs, rather weathered and indistinct in parts. A thin natural linear fissure, which extends the full width of the surface on a NW-SE axis, crosses both motifs. One motif is at the W edge of the stone and consists of a cup (diam. 8cm) enclosed by a ring (diam. c. 23cm) which is clearly defined on the NW arc at the very edge of the stone, but indistinct on the SE arc. A broad depression on the NE side and a narrower shallow depression at SW may be part of a second outer ring. The second motif is c. 0.2m to SE. It consists of a cup (diam. 7cm) enclosed by a ring (diam. c. 23cm) which is clearest on the NE arc. Again, there is a faint suggestion of a possible second, outer ring. Another possible example of rock art (DG004-089002-) is located 2.8m to SE, and more rock art (DG004-088001-; DG004-088001-) is located 70m to NE in the same field. Attached images: DG004-089001-_01 DG004-089001-_02 DG004-089001-_03 Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 20 January 2023