Neolithic Spiral Stone - Ballaragh, Isle of Man
Posted by: 
Mike_bjm
N 54° 14.596 W 004° 22.624
30U E 410264 N 6011463
This stone can be found on the B11, old road through Abbeylands of Lonan.
Waymark Code: WMY3PW
Location: Isle of Man
Date Posted: 04/14/2018
Views: 1
This stone can be found on the B11, old road through Abbeylands of Lonan. The stone is on top of hedge near the northern end of Ballaragh where the road narrows and where there is black and white painted kerbing on the left hand side of the road.
The stone was discovered in 1915. The Manx Museum record state that it was found at the present location (but lower) when a highway boundary man was cleaning the ditch.
Other boulders in the vicinity may be indicative of having been a Circle of large tumulus here.
The carving on the stone is incised i.e. cut into the rock and not pecked as is more common with prehistoric rock art. The patterns are spiral lines and possibly cup-marks which are similar in design to those found on the Calder Stones near Liverpool and at Dowth and New Grange in the Boyne Valley in Ireland.
The designs although faint can be seen about 20cm above the base of the stone and can be felt quite easily if not visible to the naked-eye.
The old green sign above has the following text:
"THE MANX MUSEUM AND ANCIENT
MONUMENTS ACT 1886
------
PERSONS INJURING THIS
ANCIENT MONUMENT
WILL BE PROSECUTED
------
BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES"
Source: A Guide to the Archaeological Sites of the Isle of Man by Andrew Johnson and Alison Fox (ISBN: 978-0-9554043-5-1)
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