Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Rock art
Letter West, County Kerry, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Letter West
- County
- Kerry
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not Indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not Indicated
- Coordinates
- 52.01318, -10.01334
- SMR number
- KE071-084----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
4 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1753 map "Mappa geographica Regni Hiberniae" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Historical maps covering this location
- 1753 · Mappa geographica Regni Hiberniae (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1790 · Composite: Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1869 · Ireland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1891 · Ireland 16 (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
This monument was initially identified as rock art by Aoibheann Lambe in 2014. In mountain heath and blanket bog, on a gentle NE-facing slope (180m OD), overlooking Behy River valley to NE; overlooked by mountains SE->W->NE. Bog trackway is c. 4m to W and a disused turf bank is c. 5m to E. A slightly rough and fractured sandstone rock (dims. dims. 2.60m NW-SE; 0.50m NE-SW; H 0.20m at SW; H 1.50m at NE), overhanging a small stream and which has a rectangular decorated surface (dims. 1.50m NW-SE; 0.50m NE-SW) with a SW-facing aspect. Only part of the rock surface is exposed across northern portion and sod covers remainder to S. Very weathered yet traceable rock art consisting of a cup-and-one ring motif (diam. 16cm) located centrally and having a cupmark (diam. 4cm; D 4mm) and ring (Wth 2cm; D 2-3mm) comprised of pickmarks. A roughly square cupmark (dims. 5cm NW-SE; 4cm NE-SW; D 4mm) is c. 70m to W. A line of pickmarks (long-axis NE-SW; L 47cm; Wth 1-1.5cm; D 3-4mm), c. 20cm to SE of the cup-and-ring motif, disappears under the peat at SW. A cluster of pickmarks (overall dims. 8cm NW-SE; 7cm NE-SW) is c. 25cm to SE and is enhanced by black moss within each individual pickmarks.
Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly
Date of upload: 3 March 2017
Nearby in the register
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.