Rock Art at Barnes Lower
Kilmacrennan, Donegal.

At a place called Barnes Lower or Barnes Beg not far from Termon in Donegal are located several antiquities of which among them are three Standing Stones, two of which bear Rock Art in the form of Cup marks and concentric circles and possibly other petroglyphs which have since worn away.

Two of these Standing Stones bearing Rock Art stand close together while a third stone lies around 300 metres away down the road in another field.

Unfortunately it appears as if most of the Rock Art on the stones has been worn away over the last two decades from the stones being used as cattle scratching posts.

I have seen this phenomena several times before including the wonderful and intricate carvings of some High Crosses being destroyed by cattle and all for the sake of some simple steel fencing to protect them.

It's my belief that the OPW, relevant government departments and the Local Authorities are severely remiss in their duties for protecting these National Monuments from damage and erosion.

Such a simple fix as steel "I" beam fencing or the like would have averted or ameliorated structural damage and surface erosion. C'est la vie.

There were originally 48 Cup marks and further designs on the larger stone of the two stone group and it is such a shame to see how much destruction has been caused to them in such a short period of time.