Ardmore Muff Stone - Ardmore Gallan Stone

The Ardmore Muff Stone, also known as the Ardmore Gallen Stone stands in a field near the village of Muff, Co. Donegal, Ireland (Irish: Magh, Contae Dhún na nGall, Éire). This rectangular standing stone with carvings is about seven feet high and three feet wide. It is decorated with forty cup-marks a number of which are surrounded by one, two or three rings. Is thought to date to the Bronze Age, which in Ireland lasted from about about 2000 BC to 500 BC. It is unlikely that we will ever understand the belief systems held by the people who erected and carved the stone. There are many theories suggested for its purpose and meaning. Including those that think it could have been a boundary marking that is decorated for art; ceremonial purposes; linked to mark seasonal changes; or observation of astronomical phenomena. Perhaps it is all of these things. It is located in a field about one and a half kilometres (one mile) north northeast of Muff village and west off the R238 north of Ardmore.

Image: Some of cup-marks and circles on the Ardmore Muff Stone