What is recorded here

One long Donegal ridge still holds a rare double-rosette cup design, visible only when weathering and exposure align. That much is known. The larger mystery is why this exact shape appeared here and not elsewhere in Britain or Ireland. Perhaps a local teacher, priest or map-maker used it to mark distance, ceremony or warning. The stones do not argue. They wait for a human mind busy enough to see the pattern and honest enough to admit the meaning has escaped.

Described by Van Hoek as 'This long ridge was more denuded in April 1986 than previously, and many more weathered but very interesting designs were revealed. The first is some 350cm NNW of DON 11A (DG004-063). Its surface slopes 16 degrees to the ENE. It has at least five simple cup marks in a row. Very interesting, however, is a weathered engraving of a large ring enclosing a distinct central cupmark which is surrounded by by two rosettes of midget cupmarks. The inner rosette has nine little cups, the outer 15. To my knowledge this is the only example of this specific design so far reported in Irish or British rock art. Similar designs, all having one ring of cups, are reported from several areas' (Fig. 5C) (Van Hoek 1987, 28-30). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload/revision: : 30 May 2010

Likely dating to the Neolithic or Bronze Age, the rock art at Magheranaul may have held symbolic, ritual, or territorial significance, common to prehistoric rock art in the region. Specific meanings or folklore associated with the site are not recorded.

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