Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – NN 52976 35894
Archaeology & History
This is a relatively new find that was uncovered in 2019 by members of the Association of Certified Field Archaeologists, on the western edge of a small bowl of blackthorn trees, just past one of the Corrycharmaig East carvings — and it’s a bit of a beauty!


Described, albeit briefly, in the superb survey by Gardiner, King & MacInnes (2024), the carving here has been cut into a sloping straight line of rock along the ridge of a very tiny cliff and consists of cups, single rings and multiple rings. At its crown, so to speak, where the rock surface levels out and is flat, a very well-preserved multiple cup-and-ring greets our senses: a cup-and-four rings to be precise. The outermost edge of the rings cuts into a natural crack that runs to the edge of the stone; and close to where this crack reaches the edge, another standard cup-and-ring rests against it. On this same section you’ll see a single cup which, by the look of it, was intended to have a much wider ring surrounding it—but for some reason it was never executed.


From the topmost section, the rock then slopes gradually downward and the design is broken by several natural splits in the stone before we reach a single unfinished cup-and-ring and a solitary cup-mark. These occur shortly before we reach a near-duplicate of the multiple-ringer that we’ve just seen on the flat top of the stone. The outer ring of this is broken and the edges of it are intruded (again) by natural cracks in the stone (a not uncommon feature). The erosion level of this and its fellow four-ringed compatriot at the top are much the same, suggesting that the two were executed at around the same time.


As we move down the slope of the rock with its veritable scattering of geological splits, the rest of the design consists of several single cup-and-rings—at least three of them—over its lower-half, almost in a gentle arc over the surface. The one closest to the four-rings has a single cup-mark attached to its outer edge and another single one just a few inches away from it. The others don’t seem to have any additional carved features attached to them; although one or two other singular cup-marks can be seen on this, the lowest section of the carving.


An interesting feature noted here is the direction that this line of rock points to: a dip between two distinct rocky peaks on the horizon and which is close to the winter solstice sunset. I should point out however, that the relationship between open air petroglyphs and astronomical alignments (in Britain at least) is very debatable. Even alignments from one carving to another are pretty meaningless, despite the attempts of some modern archaeologist to show otherwise. In my younger days when I raced into rock art studies, I threw everything I had to show astronomical and other alignments were involved in these carvings—but it turned out not to be…. Instead, it turns out that some of these seeming ‘alignments’ (and only a few) relate to pathways and ancient routes: pointers, if you like, to the way ahead. Makes sense…
References:
- Gardiner, M., King, L. & MacInnes, Dugald, In the Glen of the Dark Goddess, Bell & Bain: Glasgow 2024.
Acknowledgements: Huge thanks for use of the Ordnance Survey map in this site profile, reproduced with the kind permission of the National Library of Scotland.
© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian