
Preban 4 is lying on the ground beside an unmarked grave slab. The next slab along the track is Preban 3.
Preban 4 is lying on the ground beside an unmarked grave slab. The next slab along the track is Preban 3.
Preban 4, with one large prominent cupmark. The other is barely visible in this shot.
Preban 3.
Preban 3 has been raised back into place, again with its narrower end in the ground.
Preban 3 has 23 cupmarks.
Close-up. Some of the stone has flaked away.
Another angle of Preban 2.
Preban 2, now a grave marker in this ancient cemetery.
The narrower, curved end of this stone is buried. It’s also the more decorated section. But still, the cupmarks here are well visible.
In his wonderful book, Inscribing the Landscape: The rock art of South Leinster wordwellbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1607 Christiaan Corlett writes of the re-use and rediscovery of 3 cup-marked stones in Preban cemetery. We found 2 of these stones, and what is maybe a fourth, very small, stone with 2 cups.
Using the gazeteer at the back of the book, it was hard to locate the stones as they are both not in the same position as when Christiaan photographed them. I’ve only realised now that the third stone, the one that we didn’t find, named Preban 1 in the book, is illustrated also. Ah well.
I’ve followed the naming convention from the book, Preban 1, 2 and 3 and taken the liberty of adding the fourth, Preban 4, discovered by seven-year-old Lily-Mae.