What is recorded here

Cill Fearnóg holds a fractured sandstone boulder decorated with cup marks and rings, now resting at the high water mark after slipping from a Ventry Harbour cliff edge in 2012. Sea spray and time have softened its lines, yet the stone still displays nested rings, radial grooves and small pickmarks near its northern edge. It is not a distant monument but a maritime one, placed where tide, wind and cliff movement continue to rewrite its surface.

This boulder (c. 2m x 1.5m tapering from a max. height of 1.3m to 0.6m) formally stood at the edge of a sea-cliff at Ventry Harbour. In 2012 it slipped from this position to the seashore below(pers. comm. Lar Dunne). The art is restricted to the uppermost area of the boulder only and includes a double ringed motif with central cup mark, two double pennannular ringed motifs with cup marks, a single pennannular ring with a radiating groove, a single annular ring and about six cup-marks, two of which have connecting radial grooves (Dunne 1998). To see a 3D model of this monument, visit; https://skfb.ly/6SRJA Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 21 August 2014 Monument originally identified as rock art by Lar Dunne (1998). A survey by Connie Murphy (2000) noted that this boulder was situated in a precarious position upon upper cliff edge. Current survey confirms boulder is presently located in an upright position, c. 15-20m in height below previous siting. It is situated at the High Water Mark (HWM) upon a rocky and sandy shoreline, between seaweed-clad rocks and base of cliff. An ex-situ, slightly rough and fractured sandstone conglomerate (dims. L 2.03m; Wth 1.75m; T 0.90m) having a subrectangular decorated surface (dims. L 1.20m; Wth 0.85m) with a N-facing aspect. The motifs are very eroded by sea and the elements and consist of a cup-and-ring motif (overall diam. 17cm; cup diam. 10cm; D 8mm), a cup-and-two-ring motif (overall diam. 17cm; D 3mm) and a pennanular cup-and-two-ring motif (overall diam. 18cm; cup diam. 3cm x 4cm; D 6mm). Three single cupmarks (diam. 4.5-8cm; D 4-11mm) and a pair of cupmarks connected by a linear groove, are to N and E. Two linear and one angular groove are located toward E side of the decorated surface. A cluster of four pickmarks (overall diam. 12mm; D 5-7mm) arranged in a square-shape, are in the NE area. Two pickmarks enclosed by partial ring (overall diam. 13cm) are at eroded northern edge of stone. This rock art is best accessed from the seashore to NW. Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 7 July 2017

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the rock art may have held symbolic or ritual significance, possibly linked to territorial markers, navigation, or local mythology associated with the coastal landscape.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.