What is recorded here

Fourteen cups and four ringed cups mark a flat sandstone ledge above the Kealduff valley, still visible beside an old drystone field in County Kerry. The marks are faint, but their even spread suggests someone valued that exact stretch of rock rather than merely chipping it at random. They may have counted cups, compared rings, or returned there when the valley filled with mist. The ledge remains a small, stubborn witness to human attention on the mountain.

On level area (151m OD) of rough mountain pasture, within an old field system; drystone field boundary is c. 4m to W. Overlooking Kealduff river valley to S. A smooth and fractured sandstone outcrop (dims. 1.46m NE-SW; 0.8m NW-SE; max. H 0.4m) which has a sub-oval decorated surface (dims. 1m NE-SW; 0.6m NW-SE) which is generally flat with a very slight NE-facing tilt. The motifs are faint and evenly distributed across the surface, to E of a linear striation (long-axis N-S). The rock art consists of fourteen single cupmarks (diam. 3-5.5cm; D 2-3mm); one cup-and-ring (diam. 11cm) having a cupmark (diam. 3.5cm; D 2mm) and ring (Wth 1.0cm; D 2mm); three cup-and-two ring motifs (diam. 15-19m) having a cupmark (diam. 4cm; D 3mm) and rings (Wth 1cm; D 2mm). Rock art (KE082-074001-) lies c. 18m to N. This area is strewn with numerous earthfast boulders and loose rocks of varying shapes and sizes. Entry No. 288, in the archaeological survey of the Iveragh Peninsula (O'Sullivan and Sheehan 1996, 87). Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 8 March 2017

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, this rock art may have held ritual or territorial significance, possibly linked to early farming communities in the region. Its location overlooking the Kealduff river valley suggests a strategic or symbolic position within the landscape.

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