Spotted this yoke up Hen Mountain. Was curious, could it be manmade? Ancient ashtray? Any suggestions welcome.

13 comments

1. Looks like an old millstone

2. Some fella started carving a bowl and gave up.

3. Half made then abandoned due to fault or crack millstone?

4. I reckon it’s a large rock.

5. You found the Hen Easter eggs!! Well done !

6. Yea it’s a millstone that was abandoned due to a crack. It’s quite common to find these across the north. There is a mountain on the other side of the mournes literally called millstone mountain. They are a pretty interesting piece of history

7. Ats an ancient glory hole from the aul days

8. I love this kind of stuff!

   So I would say not a millstone, especially since the central hole does not pierce the stone.

   On the other hand the central hole does look like it may have been worked, specifically drilled deliberately by human hands.

   It’s a shame we can’t see the actual shape of the boulder. It appears disc like but it coukd be a big round stone with a flat face looking at us.

   Like most big hillside rocks in Northern Ireland this stone has probably been sat there since the ice melted like the other rocks around it.

   I’m guessing it’s welded hard into the structure of the hill, and is not a loose boulder. The flat face is what’s left of the rock after the glaciers sanded the hill smooth.

   The hole in the middle was probably carved into it by somebody long ago who felt it was a cool and special rock that needed some adornment, or perhaps a place to leave offerings.

   That’s my best guess!

9. Upvote for “ancient ashtray”. I don’t know why, but it made me laugh. Cheers and Happy New Year!

10. Referred as An Solas Feola or the Light of Flesh by the Ancient Druids

11. Making sharpening wheels & Millstones in West Germany, was still a very primitive affair back in 1971. Imagine how hard it would be with Granite.

    [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahfcLl4djHQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahfcLl4djHQ)

12. Doesn’t look like a millstone especially considering it’s up a mountain, it’s likely a “cupmark” which are the most common form of neolithic stone art carvings on the island of Ireland, really interesting stuff

    Here’s a cool pfd all about it with photos and illustrations
    [prehistoric rock art in ireland](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Rock-Art-Prehistoric-Rock-Art-in-Ireland-A4.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwibgY6W0ciKAxU2TUEAHcOLGKgQFnoECBcQBg&usg=AOvVaw3YIdSd6in9VU3U1yVI0_Xl)

13. That rock was formed about three and a half million years ago. Humans weren’t around then and certainly didn’t have tools to do it.
    ALIENS.

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