Rock art, Carrowreagh or Craignacally, Co. Donegal

First documented by researcher M.A.M. Van Hoek in 1987, this ancient canvas consists of a large horizontal rock outcrop decorated with 17 distinct cupmarks; shallow, circular depressions carefully pecked into the stone surface by our ancestors thousands of years ago. One of these cupmarks stands out from the rest, encircled by a faintly visible ring of pocked marks that forms a complete circle around it.

The site holds an intriguing mystery in the form of a small cross carved into the northwestern section of the rock face. Van Hoek noted that this cross appears to be incised rather than pecked, suggesting it might be an Early Christian addition to the much older prehistoric artwork; a common occurrence across Ireland where successive generations left their mark on sacred stones. However, the cross bears a striking resemblance to similar markings found at Mevagh G, another Donegal site, where the crosses are believed to be prehistoric in origin, adding an element of uncertainty to its true age.

This blending of potentially different time periods at a single site reflects the long continuity of human presence in this corner of Donegal, where ancient peoples chose this particular escarpment to create their enigmatic cupmarks, possibly for ritual purposes, astronomical observations, or territorial markers; their true meaning lost to time but their presence still commanding attention on the weathered rock face.