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Rock art in Spahill

Rock art

What is recorded here

Spahill holds a low granite slab marked with eight shallow cups, buried slightly by an old field fence on a south-facing slope. The stone faces Mount Leinster, Knockmore Hill and the Blackstairs, suggesting whoever cut it wanted the horizon as much as the rock itself. It may have marked a boundary, a meeting place or a quiet ritual spot, but the fence and soil have since half-erased its purpose.
An earthfast low-level granite stone (L 92cm; Wth 70cm) situated midway on a S facing slope of a low ridge with Mount Leinster visible to the E, Knockmore Hill and the Blackstairs to the SE, Brandon Hill to the SW and the Coppanagh Hills to the WSW. An earthen bank forming an E-W field fence traverses the stone immediately to the S, and partially covered the stone. There are c. 8 cup marks (average diam. 4-5cm; average D 0.5cm), the largest of which is 8cm across and 1cm deep. They are generally confined to the outer edges of the top surface. Not certain if the stone is in its original location. Compiled by: Claire Breen and Chris Corlett Date of upload: 5 October 2011
Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the rock art may have held ritual or territorial significance, possibly linked to landscape orientation or celestial markers. No specific folklore is recorded for this site.

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What survives
Recorded monument

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