Prehistoric art has long been a key research interest within UCD, with a particular emphasis on the megalithic art of passage tombs as exemplified by the work of Dr Muiris O’Sullivan, who has acted as an external assessor of the Europreart project.

Aerial photograph of the passage tombs
at Knowth, County Meath

Aerial photograph of the passage tomb
at Newgrange, County Meath

The Dingle and Iveragh Peninsulas in County Kerry, as well as areas in Counties Louth, Monaghan and Donegal, represent important areas in Ireland where particularly high concentrations of rock art panels are found. Irish petroglyphs generally consist of pecked motifs on natural outcrops and boulders, and they are also incorporated into prehistoric monuments such as tombs, standing stones, and stone alignments. The motifs are exclusively abstract and commonly consist of cups, circular and linear forms which are combined to create a wide range of composite designs, some of which are similar to those seen in parts of England, Scotland, France and Iberia. Chronology remains a contentious issue, but these panels are widely considered to date to the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age in terms of their origin and also their possible re-use. Several significant rock art surveys have been conducted by private researchers and government funded projects in Ireland over the last few decades. Much of the most recent recording work has employed the tracing technique, and current work at UCD is developing a non-contact recording technique using epigraphic survey and computer aided design software.