Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Rock art
Letter West, County Kerry, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Letter West
- County
- Kerry
- Country
- Ireland
- Coordinates
- 52.01406, -10.01031
- SMR number
- KE071-173----
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
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1753 "Mappa geographica Regni Hiberniae" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
In mountain heath and cutaway bog (163m OD), on a gentle NE-facing slope, c. 2.8m to ENE of rock art (KE071-172----); Pre-bog field wall is c. 3.5m to N. Good views of Behy river valley to NE with Seefin and Droum Mountains in background. A slightly rough and fractured, sandstone rock outcrop (dims. 2.05m NNE-SSW; 1.7m ESE-WNW; H 0.65m at SE) which is roughly triangular in plan. It has a subrectangular-shaped decorated surface (dims. 0.95m NNE-SSW; 0.7m ESE-WNW) with motifs upon the NW-facing aspect and top of rock. The motifs are faint and weathered, yet traceable. Most of the decorative elements are located upon the NW-facing aspect and consist of a picked linear groove (L 0.37m; Wth 1.5cm; D 2-3mm) across centre of decorated surface with off-shoots (also picked) to a cupmark (diam. 3cm; D 4mm) at top, middle and base; Two additional cupmarks (4.5cm; D 8mm) directly to E of uppermost and together the five total cupmarks form a right-angled arrangement in plan. A sixth cupmark (diam. 4.5cm; D 8mm) is upon top of stone. A dense cluster of faint pickmarks adjacent lower side of linear groove, to S. Other random pickmarks toward N area of stone.
Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly
Date of upload: 26 January 2018
Nearby in the register
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.