Rock art, Magheranaul, Co. Donegal

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Settlement Sites

Rock art, Magheranaul, Co. Donegal

On a sloping outcrop in Magheranaul, County Donegal, ancient hands carved an intricate collection of rock art that continues to puzzle archaeologists today.

The site consists of two main sections on a large, rough surface that slopes about 10 degrees southward. The western portion, often hidden beneath vegetation or soil, bears 11 cupmarks; small, circular depressions hammered into the stone. Amongst these simple marks, one cupmark sports a curved tail, whilst another more elaborate design features a central cup surrounded by three rings. The innermost ring breaks from perfect symmetry with a deliberate gap, the middle ring forms a complete circle, and the outermost ring remains unfinished. A straight groove extends southward from the central cup, whilst another curves dramatically westward from the outer ring before doubling back on itself.

The eastern section of the outcrop reveals 12 additional cupmarks with their own distinctive characteristics. One cup sits within a complete ring, whilst nearby, another displays a gapped or incomplete ring with faint traces of a second circle. A particularly large cupmark shows remnants of three concentric rings accompanied by three radiating grooves. On a lower level of the rock face, another sizeable cupmark features a single gapped ring and a short, curved tail extending from its centre.

First documented comprehensively by Van Hoek in 1987 and later catalogued in the Donegal Archaeological Survey as site number 657;59, these petroglyphs likely date to the Bronze Age, though their exact age and purpose remain subjects of scholarly debate. The combination of simple cupmarks with more complex ring and groove patterns suggests the site may have held ritual significance or served as a territorial marker for the communities who created them thousands of years ago.

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