Cattle and rock art don't mix

Sess Kilgreen 1

Image by CianMcLiam

Hob Nov 14, 2004 23:54:02

It looks like a smashing bit of rock art in this pic:
http://irishmegaliths.megalithomania.com/zSessKilgreen2.htm
but if this:
http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/33067
is the result of 20 years of being used as a cattle rubbing stone, it's a sad loss.

Have the carvings been as damaged as it seems from those pictures?
I sort of hope the apparent loss of detail is enhanced by the dryness of the stone, reducing the visibility of the carvings.

rocknicker Nov 15, 2004 00:28:00

Replying to Hob

god that's awful. Reminds me of this too
http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/13468

FourWinds Nov 15, 2004 06:44:05

Replying to Hob

Yes, it is that bad.

The sad thing is, as I say in the fieldnotes, that the farmer WASN'T allowed to protect it. I'd say it's a combination of acid rain and the cattle rubbing that's done it. It has been where it is for around 100 years (or longer) and it's only deteriorated in the last 25. Perhaps silage spraying has also contributed?

StoneLifter Nov 15, 2004 07:53:49

Replying to Hob

Don't blame the cows, please. Just the farmers (and we shouldn't criticise them, really, with our mouths full). (As they say).

A landowner probably feels the same way about Rock Art as we would feel about a Donny Osmond L.P. A well-scratched cow is a healthy one. At the Knar, Hob, I found the corner of a cup-marked rock poking out of meadow turf. I cut away the sod exposing very well preserved cupmarks (in a 'pepperbox' pattern). The next summer the farm lad was sure to run his cutting bar over it - in two directions - leaving an 'x' scar over it.

NY 6621 5124 - there's more within a two hundred metre radius. I've not told the farmers where they are - SMR'd - mainly. (It's the same old story !)