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Rock art in An Fhothrach Mhór

Rock art

What is recorded here

An Fhothrach Mhór holds a six-by-four-foot stone buried in a Kerry field wall, marked with cups and circles that Orpen drew in 1908 before the place forgot it. The geometry suggests deliberate sightlines across the Owenalondrig valley rather than casual scraping, yet the stone has vanished from local memory and resists finding. It may still lie under grass or have been carried away for a garden border, preserving its shapes while losing its meaning.
About 300 yards S of Foheraghmore village, on a N facing slope overlooking the Owenalondrig valley, Orpen (1908, 12) discovered a decorated stone lying on a N-S running field wall. The stone measured 6 feet (1.8m) by 4 feet (1.2m), and Orpen's schematic drawing shows that its upper surface bore 1 plain cup-mark, 4 cup-marks enclosed by a single circle, a cup-and-3 circles and a cup-and-2 circles. A straight line connects the outer circle of this latter motif to the adjacent cup-and-circle. The stone is not known locally and could not be found on this occasion. The above description is derived from J. Cuppage, ‘Corca Dhuibhne. Dingle Peninsula archaeological survey. Ballyferriter. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne’ (1986), no. 183. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 4 August 2013 About 300 yards (275m) to S of Foheraghmore village, on a N facing slope overlooking the Owenalondrig valley, Orpen (1908, 12) discovered a decorated stone lying on a N-S running field wall. The stone measured 6 feet (1.8m) by 4 feet (1.2m), and Orpen's schematic drawing shows that its upper surface bore 1 plain cup-mark, 4 cup-marks enclosed by a single circle, a cup-and-3 circles and a cup-and-2 circles. A straight line connects the outer circle of this latter motif to the adjacent cup-and-circle. The stone is not known locally and could not be found on this occasion. Orpen’s description would suggest that this monument is located to E of ringfort (KE054-004----). Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 7 July 2017
Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the decorated stone may have had ritual or territorial significance, possibly linked to early farming communities in the region. No specific folklore is recorded for the site.

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What survives
Recorded monument

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