I always say 'don't judge anything by a photograph' but have a look at this stone ( http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/10749/kilruane.html ). Have a look on the right side of the stone. There are some cup-like hollows on the rock. One would assume that they are simply patterns of erosion, yet closer inspection, of the picture, suggests there may be channels between them. Both the channels and the cups are accepted Rock Art motifs and identifying them on the same stone as a Bullaun suggests that they are contemperaneus (a term I have just invented which means 'made with the same mindset').

It's a pity there are no true Ballauns in Knarsdale - but there is no shortage of linked cups and channels. Remember the flagpole theory for these hefty carvings? It's a New Moon in a couple of days and a good time to be beginning something!