Rock art in Derreeny

Rock art identified and described by Ken Williams as: ‘Located just south of an old disused trackway, in rough ground used for sheep grazing and strewn with erratic boulders, to the north west of the larger concentration of rock art in the Derreeny townland.  Partially overgrown with scrub and encrusted with lichen. Very large and prominent boulder (c. 4m x 4m at maximum width and 1.3m in height) situated just south of an old disused trackway among a scatter of erratic boulders. This is the largest boulder in the immediate vicinity and has sloping sides each side of its highest point. The top of the boulder has many small solution holes which have a natural appearance. Part of the boulder is covered with scrub on the east and north sides. Along the top ridge of the boulder is a typical, round-bottomed cup-mark surrounded by a ring. To the north of this is another, smaller cup-mark surrounded by a D shaped groove but the cup-mark is not centrally placed within this groove. To the north of this, on the sloping north side, are two natural solution holes situated close together and each surrounded by a picked ring which are conjoined between the solution holes, thus making a rough figure-8 shape. Above these, at the very eastern edge of the top surface is a single cup-mark partially surrounded by a curved groove. Although it may be the remains of a surrounding ring, it could also be due to natural weathering. It is possible that more motifs remain concealed beneath the overgrown area of the surface’.   Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Ken Williams