What is recorded here

Rock art in Doire Fhionáin Beag holds a deep cup-and-ring marker inside a common Kerry field boundary, waiting for hands brave enough to read its faint lines. Aoibheann Lambe identified the place in 2014, drawing attention to marks that ranch work and rain had nearly erased. The stone may have marked a route, a claim, a warning or a gift for people no longer named. Its shallow cups still touch the skin like a sentence half forgotten.

This monument was initially identified as rock art by Aoibheann Lambe in 2014. Incorporated into a drystone field boundary, in improved pasture (23m OD), on a level area of ground of an otherwise gentle ENE-facing slope. A smooth and fractured sandstone boulder (dims. 2.10m NW-SE; 1.90m NE-SW; max. H 0.70m at SE) having a subrectangular decorated surface (dims. 1.30m NW-SE; 0.70m NE-SW) which is weathered and eroded, bearing a number of faint motifs. A cup-and-ring motif (overall dims. 12cm N-S; 9cm E-W; ring Wth 1.5-2cm; D 2mm; cup diam. 6cm; D 14mm) at E, has a faint yet traceable ring SE->W->N; This is a very deep cupmark that appears further eroded by the elements and its interior is rough but made smooth by the presence of lichens. Three potential cupmarks (diam. 6-7cm; D 10-17mm) form a linear arrangement along SW side of stone. These are extremely weathered and very deeply eroded. This monument was initially identified as rock art by A. Lambe (2014). Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 7 July 2017

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the rock art at Doire Fhionáin Beag may have held symbolic or ritual significance, possibly linked to territorial markers or spiritual beliefs. Its placement within a drystone boundary suggests a possible integration with later agricultural practices.

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