What is recorded here

On a raised outcropping in Ballyvorda, a subtriangular stone still wears sixteen deep cup-and-circle marks across its top and side faces. The carvings cut so far into the rock that they drape over the edge like water frozen mid-spill. Cows may have walked past for centuries, but the maker stood close enough to feel the weight of each strike.

Situated on a raised area of outcropping rock in pasture, close to a townland boundary. A subtriangular earthfast stone (L 1m N-S; Wth 0.25-0.65m; H 0.6-0.85m) with cup and circle motifs on the top, E and S faces. The rock is covered in lichen and moss but the carvings are mostly in good condition. They are deeply incised into the stone creating a pronounced three-dimensional effect with motif’s draped across the edge between the top and the E face. The top has two cup motifs and 6 cup and circle motifs (diams. 0.15-0.2m), the E face has 7 cup and circle motifs (diam. 0.15m) and the S face has 2 definite cup and circle motifs (diam. 0.15m), one possible circle and some possible ‘pock marks’. (pers. comm. Melanie McQuade, 19 December 2016) Compiled by: Mary Tunney with information supplied by Melanie McQuade, Forest Service. Date of upload: 19 December 2016

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the cup and circle rock art motifs may have held ritual or symbolic significance, possibly relating to water, fertility, or celestial events. Such markings are often associated with ceremonial landscapes and territorial markers in prehistoric Ireland.

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