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Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland

Rock art

Letter West, County Kerry, Ireland

Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915) covering the location of Rock art, Letter West, County Kerry, with a pin at the register's coordinates
Ordnance Survey six-inch map, 2nd edition (1888–1915), covering this location. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland. The pin is ours, placed from the register's coordinates.

The record

Townland
Letter West
County
Kerry
Country
Ireland
First-edition OS map
Not Indicated
Latest-edition OS map
Not Indicated
Coordinates
52.01446, -10.01445
SMR number
KE071-110----

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David 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)

Get directions ↗

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 2016. In an area of cutaway bog and mountain heath, on a gentle NE-facing slope (179m OD), overlooking Behy River valley to NE and overlooked by mountains SE->W->NE. Turf banks located to SE, E and N. A slightly rough and fractured, sandstone boulder (dims. 2.65m NE-SW; 1.25m NW-SE; max. H 0.75m at N), having a decorated surface to NE and S bearing weathered and faint motifs. The NE-facing decorated surface (dims. 0.40m N-S; 0.70m E-W) consists of three clusters of pickmarks: The main cluster (dims. 17cm N-S; 15cm E-W) of pickmarks (each diam. 5mm; D 2mm) is located centrally upon this stone surface, to SE of a deep fissure (long-axis NE-SW). This cluster incorporates a semi-circular arc (dims. 11cm ENE-WSW; 4m NNW-SSE) which is open to S and encloses further pickmarks. A small area of pickmarks (dims. 4cm N-S; 6cm E-W) is located c. 15cm to N, on the opposite side of the deep fissure. Another small cluster of pickmarks (dims. 4cm N-S; 13cm E-W) is located c. 28cm to W of the main cluster. The S-facing decorated surface (dims. 0.30m NE-SW; 0.10m NW-SE) consists of a cluster (dims. 10cm NNE-SSW; 4cm WNW-ESE) of pickmarks which are located c. 50cm to S of the main cluster. A possible cupmark (dims. 4.5cm N-S; 7cm E-W; D 4mm) is located c. 22cm to SW of these pickmarks. Small, natural depressions (dims. 2-3cm; D 3mm) to SW. Rock art site (KE071-087----) is c. 14m to NNW.

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.

Sites and Monuments Record data: National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Record text is reproduced unchanged. National Monuments Service, Government of Ireland · CC BY 4.0
All Rock art in Kerry All County Kerry records All Ireland Heritage registers Historical markers (US)National Register of Historic Places (US)
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