The Modern Antiquarian. Stone Circles, Ancient Sites, Neolithic Monuments, Ancient Monuments, Prehistoric Sites, Megalithic MysteriesThe Modern Antiquarian

 

Fananierin

Cup Marked Stone

<b>Fananierin</b>Posted by ryanerImage © ryaner
Nearest Town:Laragh (9km NNE)
OS Ref (IE):   T104890 / Sheet: 62
Latitude:52° 56' 25.79" N
Longitude:   6° 21' 27.51" W

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<b>Fananierin</b>Posted by ryaner <b>Fananierin</b>Posted by ryaner <b>Fananierin</b>Posted by ryaner <b>Fananierin</b>Posted by ryaner

Fieldnotes

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I heard Christian Corlett mention this stone during a talk he had given on the rock art of South Leinster. Ken Williams had attended the talk and posted the recording on da web. I've been curious about the stone for a while, located as it is in the megalithically sparse south central Wicklow mountains. It's also a place where I spent quite a bit of time as a youngster and it was a great excuse to return to Glenmalure.

I ran a find on cup-marked stones in Wicklow on the archaeology.ie database and sure enough there it was! The placement on the map is bang on though the satellite map is quite a bit older than reality which was confusing at first. Using OS sheet 62, find the first forest track on your left after the sharp right turn coming up the road from Drumgoff. The stone is in the field above the end of this track, a little to the right and about 150 metres away.

There are hut sites and enclosures marked on the archaeology.ie map in the vicinity. These are hard to make out and there's supposed to be one about 10 metres from this stone. The stone itself is flush with the ground, slab-like, roughly a metre by 500cms. There is one main concentration of cup-marks towards the north-east of the stone. These are placed in more or less a straight line. There are about 10 other cups sacattered around the rock in various states of erosion.

I loved the area, Fananierin mountain to the north-east, the small valley created by it and Slieve Maan to the south-west, Drumgoff brook at its bottom feeding into the Avonbeg. The faint feeling that these cups might be natural solution pits faded as I strolled around in the sunshine, examining the hut-sites and enclosures.
ryaner Posted by ryaner
4th May 2009ce
Edited 14th June 2020ce