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Rock art in Trimragh

Rock art

What is recorded here

Kinahan (1879-88, 272) recorded Giants rock in County Donegal with seven cupmarks arranged in two triangles and one outlier, while the nearby Giants Grave held two more. The stones lay in low scrub near Lough Swilly, now buried under land reclamation. They may have marked a boundary, a offering place or a game played by people who no longer leave names behind.
Kinahan (1879-88, 272) recorded that the Giants rock (DG053-027001-) which was marked on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map had seven cupmarks i.e. two sets in triangular arrangements with an outlier. One hundred yards due E was another large flat stone called the 'Giants Grave' which had two cupmarks. Nearby on a rock surface were two or more cupmarks and on a smaller stone (DG053-027004-) about fifty yards S a smaller stone with one cupmark. None of these were discovered on this occasion. The stones were located in low-lying scrub-land close to the old Lough Swilly shoreline but land reclamation has totally altered the area. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008
Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the rock art at Trimragh may have had ritual or astronomical significance, as suggested by the arrangement of cupmarks. Such markings are often associated with ceremonial practices or territorial markers in prehistoric landscapes.

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What survives
Recorded monument

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