Tag: Scottish heritage

Balmae (13), Kirkcudbright, Kirkcudbrightshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone (lost):  OS Grid Reference – NX 68700 44699

Archaeology & History

Coles’ 1895 sketch

This impressive-looking carving was rediscovered in the 1880s during one of Fred Coles’ ventures uncovering many of the petroglyphs in this area.  It could be found, he said, “some three hundred yards south-east of Balmae House.”  When the local historian Malcolm Harper visited Samuel Fletcher who lived in the cottage at Balmae a few years after it had been discovered, he spoke enthusiastically about the carvings and knew much about them, but Harper doesn’t specifically mention whether or not he’d seen this stone (he probably did).  Nowadays the carving is covered in thickets of gorse and and, as a result, it hasn’t been seen in many a year.  The great Scottish petroglyph hunter Kaledon Naddair may have been one of the last people to visit it.

It’s impressive, as Mr Coles’ (1895) sketch shows, comprising, as he said, of

“two sets of concentric rings, one having four, the other five and a central cup. It is smooth, and slopes to the W. at an angle of 40°. The largest ring is 24 inches in diameter.”

A number of other impressive multiple-ringed carvings exist hereby that have also fallen prey to the cover of gorse.  So get some hedge-cutters and decent gardening gloves if you’re gonna look for this one!

References:

  1. Coles, Fred, “A Record of the Cup-and-Ring Markings in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland, volume 29, 1895.
  2. Morris, Ronald W.B., “The Cup-and-Ring Marks and Similar Sculptures of South-West Scotland,” in Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society, volume 14, 1967.
  3. Morris, Ronald W.B., The Prehistoric Rock Art of Galloway and the Isle of Man, Blandford: Poole 1979.
  4. Morris, Ronald W.B. & Bailey, Douglas C., “The Cup-and-Ring Marks and Similar Sculptures of Southwestern Scotland: A Survey,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 98, 1967.
  5. Royal Commission Ancient & Historical Monuments & Constructions of Scotland, Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in Galloway – volume 2: County of the Stewatry of Kirkcudbrightshire , HMSO: Edinburgh 1914.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Cow Clout Stone, Parton, Kirkcudbrightshire

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Legendary Rock:  OS Grid Reference – NX 6694 7336

Also Known as:

  1. Cowcloot Stone

Getting here

Harper’s 1876 sketch of the Cow Clout Stone

OK—I’m cheating here, as I’ve not visited this site (bad of me!).  The directions given here are from Harper’s 1876 Rambles in this area.  He told that the stone “stands about 100 yards to the north of the march dyke betwixt Upper Ervie, now Ken-Ervie and Nether Ervie. There is little to indicate its whereabouts, but the visitor coming from Kenmure Bridge, and leaving the road on the left, opposite Ringour and Bennan farms, on the opposite side of Loch Ken, would come upon it without much trouble by following the march dyke half a mile up.”  Basically, along the A713 just over 2 miles north of the bridge at Parton (½ mile before reaching the Galloway Activity Centre), 60 yards from the “Farm Access No Parking” spot, in the trees a long straight line of walling runs uphill.  That’d be my route—straight up!

Archaeology & History

This is a curious entry that I’ve added without visiting the site; but as I might never get to see it I thought it should be displayed in the hope that others might check it out.  The earliest literary reference to it is from Crosbie’s (1845) entry in the New Statistical Account, where he implies that the markings on the stone are not of Nature’s handiwork.  In Malcolm Harper’s (1876) fine work exploring the history and folklore of this region, he gave us the first illustration of the stone, which looks suspiciously like elements that we find on cup-and-ring stones.  Many years later when the Royal Commission (1914) lads followed up on Crosbie’s entry, they thought the markings were probably Nature’s handiwork.  They told that:

“It is an irregular mass of outcropping rock about 3 feet in diameter, and bears on its surface certain depressed markings supposed to represent a cow’s foot, a horse-shoe, and impressions which might be made by a man’s foot and knee in the act of kneeling. The markings appear to be natural.”

But it’s the animistic elements and traditions here which are important and which gave the stone its very name…

Folklore

When Rev. W.G. Crosbie (1845) first wrote about this stone, he was narrating the tale told of it by local people, whose traditions were greatly neglected by the majority of writers at that time.  Such stories should be preserved at all times, as they tell us more about the psychocosms of pre-industrial cultures.  Here,

“On the farm of Arvie, there is a flat stone about three feet in diameter, on which are the marks of what might be supposed a cow’s foot, a horse shoe, the four nails on each side being very distinct, and the impression which might be made by a man’s foot and knee while he was in the act of kneeling, the knot of the garter being quite evident.  The tradition connected with this remarkable stone, commonly called the ‘Cow Clout,’ is, that the proprietor, in order to get up arrears of rent, “drave the pun,” or in other words, carried off the hypothecated stock, while a fierce resistance was made by the people, and that over this stone, on which a man had just been praying for relief against his enemies, the cattle passed followed by an officer on horseback, and that it remains as a memorial to posterity of the cruel deed.”

If someone in that neck o’ the woods can find out if the stone’s still there and perhaps send us a photo, or stick it on our Facebook group, that’d be great! 🙂

References:

  1. Coles, Fred, “The Recent Cup and Ring Mark Discoveries in Kirkcudbrightshire”, in Proceedings Dumfriesshire & Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, volume 5, 1888.
  2. Crosbie, W.G., “Parish of Parton,” in New Statistical Account of Scotland – volume 4, William Blackwood: Edinburgh 1845.
  3. Harper, Malcolm M., Rambles in Galloway, Edmonston & Douglas: Edinburgh 1876.
  4. Royal Commission Ancient & Historical Monuments & Constructions of Scotland, Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in Galloway – volume 2: County of the Stewatry of Kirkcudbrightshire , HMSO: Edinburgh 1914.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Carron Hill, Stenhousemuir, Stirlingshire

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Cist (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – NS 872 825 (approximation)

Antiquarian Notes

Writing in the “Transactions of the Stirling Natural History & Archaeological Society” in 1882, Mr Thomson told:

“About the middle of last month I was informed by Mr Bruce that the Council of the Field Club had asked the rector and myself to go and examine a cist alleged to have been discovered in a field near Stenhousemuir.  I arranged with the rector to go the following Saturday.  As he was suffering from cold, and it was stormy, he was unable to go.  I thought I would risk cold and storm, and at the station met Mr Taylor of Morrison & Taylor, who was just returning to Larbert.  Learning my errand he kindly promised me every assistance.  During tea Miss Taylor procured for me the account of the opening of the cist which had appeared in the Falkirk Herald.  It ran as follows:

“‘Discovery of Human Remains – On Tuesday last, the workmen employed by the Carron Company in excavating the Sand Hills, about a quarter of a mile to the south of the village of Stenhousemuir, made a discovery which has caused some excitement in the district.  At the depth of four feet from the surface the workmen came in contact with a stone coffin or grave, 3 feet 9 inches long by 2 feet broad, very substantially built, and containing the remains of a human body.  When the discovery was made, parts of the skull were in good preservation, but soon after being exposed to the air they  crumbled away.  The remains have been carefully collected, and are now in possession of the workmen at the hut at the Sand Quarry.  On Wednesday a great many people visited the place, prompted by a natural curiosity to see these relies thus suddenly brought to light, the history of which, it is to be feared, must ever remain a mystery. ’”

“After tea, Mr Taylor and I went to the place where the cist was railed off.  It is in the middle of a field acquired by the Carron Company to take sand for their castings from, and the excavation that revealed the cist had been made with a view of getting a new bed of sand.  About 200 yards west of the gate of Carron Park House, and close by a railway for waggons, where the workmen had been digging pits, partly with a view to find, as I understood, the lie of the sand, and partly also to arrange the course of a waggon railway for the new sand pit, they came upon traces of a disturbance in the sand.  On digging down they came upon some large stones.  On lifting them they found some bones, among the rest the top of the skull. The latter was injured somewhat by the spade, and it seems soon to have crumbled away.

“When I went along with Mr Taylor to the spot, which, as we have said, had been railed off by the kindness of Mr Cowan, the manager, we found that the cist had been somewhat dismantled, the upper large stones were lying about the side of the cist, and along with them several smaller ones.  We noted that the depth below the surface had been exaggerated in the Falkirk Herald, from the reporter having failed to notice that the earth had been heaped up on the spot when the present waggon railroad was made.  We measured the cavity carefully: the length was 3 feet 8 inches, the greatest breadth 16½ inches, and the least 14 inches, the greatest depth to the bottom of the stones still standing was 15 inches.  There were three large stones, each about 2 feet by 16 inches, which had been the roof of the cist.  A young man who had watched our movements with some curiosity, went and brought an old man who had been present when the cist was opened — he told us strange tales of how these three large stones had all been one but were “jist fair rotten.”  The fact that the stones showed no signs of ever having been one, and that their thicknesses being different — one being 5 inches, another 7½ inches, and a third 2½ inches — did not unduly disconcert him when questioned by Mr Taylor in cross-examination, but brought out from him the somewhat irrelevant information that he was seventy-nine and had been under “sax managers in Carron, and he should ken a’ aboot it.”  He further declared that the smaller stones had been one stone also.  This was even more difficult to believe, and when he proceeded to tell of a layer of fine powdered lime being laid between the stones we suspected his years had brought dotage, not increase of knowledge.  I learned that the bones had been removed from the hut, and were in the keeping of the manager, so Mr Taylor kindly took me to see him in his house some two miles or so from the place where the cist was found.  He told us that he had arranged for their safe custody, but had never seen them, and asked me to come some other day, not a Saturday.

“I went again on Friday week, and saw another of the workmen, and a gentleman from Carron works.  This other workman had not his friend’s great age, and admitted that the stones were not one originally, and that the small ones formed part of the sides.  If those small stones were built up on the existing walls of the cist, their height would be brought up to about 2 feet in all.

“I noted carefully that the joints were not filled up with clay, and that neglecting the variation of the compass, the cist lay due north and south.  The gentleman who had been sent by Mr Cowan, when asked about the bones, took out of his pocket what seemed a box for holding twelve gross of pens, and opened it; it was filled with a mass of small fragments of bone quite friable and utterly indistinguishable…”

Further Reading:

  1. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments Scotland, Stirling – 2 volumes, HMSO: Edinburgh 1963.
  2. Thomson, J., “The Cist at Stenhousemuir”, in Transactions Stirling Natural History & Archaeological Society, no.4 1882.

Kirkgunzeon, Kirkcudbrightshire

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Stone Circle (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – NX 8657 6668

Archaeology & History

Little is known about this stone circle, which had apparently been destroyed sometime in the first half of the 19th century.  The local Rev. J. Gillespie spoke about it with the great Fred Coles (1895), who told that it was “near the manse of Kirkgunzeon.” The site was listed in Burl’s (2000) magnum opus, where he wondered if it might have been a cairn; and interestingly, when the Ordnance Survey lads came here, they spoke with a Mrs J. Moffat, the oldest inhabitant in the area, who told that,

“a circle of stones c.30 ft in diameter with a small mound in the centre stood on flat ground at NX 8657 6668. Over the years successive farmers have removed the larger stones and now only the slight mound, c.4.0 m diam. x 0.3 m high, with several clearance stones on top, survives to mark the site of the stone circle.”

References:

  1. Burl, Aubrey, The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, Yale University Press 2000.
  2. Coles, Fred, “The Stone Circles of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright”, in Proceedings Society Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 29, 1895.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Knockshinnie, Kirkcudbright, Kirkcudbrightshire

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Stone Circle (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – NX 681 450

Archaeology & History

In an area that’s littered with prehistoric rock art, this “stone circle” at Knockshinne—listed in Burl’s (2000) magnum opus—is a debatable entry that was described in one of Fred Coles’ (1895) many articles on such matters.  When he came here he told how to the west,

“of Balmae House, and near the base of Knockshinnie, four stones in situ, all, I think, granite, and the sites of six others as distinctly observable…. A  massive stone lies outside the circle on the south.  Diameter 72 feet.”

Subsequent visits to the same spot by the Royal Commission (1914) gave a somewhat different interpretation to that suggested by Coles.  They told us that,

“This setting of stones, noted elsewhere as a stone circle, lies on rough pasture some 100 yards below the road passing to the south-west of Knockshinnie, and about ¼ mile west-north-west of Balmae.  It consists of four granite blocks, the highest standing about li feet above ground, placed on an arc with a chord of 76 feet and radius at centre of 21 feet.  The stones are placed at irregular distances on a sloping bank, so that the lowest stone is at 8 feet lower elevation than the upper one. Other two displaced boulders and a number of smaller stones lie in a heap to the north-west, and the beds of stones which have been removed from the setting are visible. Though the boulders have been placed in position by man’s hand, it is doubtful if they have ever been part of a stone circle, and from their situation on a slope below a plateau it is probable that they represent the line of an old dyke.”

By the 1970s, all that remained here was a line of three stones, but these have subsequently been removed or destroyed.  Modern archaeological interpretation goes against Burl (2000) and Coles, suggesting that the stones were more likely part of an ancient dyke.

References:

  1. Burl, Aubrey, The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, Yale University Press 2000.
  2. Coles, Fred, “The stone circles of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright”, in Proceedings Society Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 29, 1895.
  3. Royal Commission Ancient & Historical Monuments & Constructions of Scotland, Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in Galloway – volume 2: County of the Stewatry of Kirkcudbrightshire , HMSO: Edinburgh 1914.

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

Corrycharmaig (9), Killin, Perthshire

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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!

Topmost part of carving

Corrycharmaig (9) stone

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.

Second multiple-ringer

Second multiple-ring

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.

Lower-half with cup&rings

Close-up of cup&rings

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.

Looking to the hills

From the bottom up

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:

  1. 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

Bardristane (1), Anwoth, Kirkcudbrightshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone (lost):  OS Grid Reference – NX 529 528

Also Known as:

  1. Bardriston

Archaeology & History

In a region possessed with a good number of cup and ring stones, this one on the lower slopes of Barholm Hill may have once been part of a prehistoric tomb, or cist cover.  A fairly decent design had been carved onto a small flat slab of stone which, when uncovered in the 19th century, doesn’t seem to have been in its original position.  As the great Fred Coles (1894) told us:

Coles’ 1895 sketch

“The Bardristan slab…was removed from amongst the stones of an old drain in 1889, and, through Mr Kinna’s care, it is now preserved at Bardristan.  The evident attempt to square the stone itself; the extreme smallness of the rings ; the direct connection of the grooves, in all cases but one, with cups; and lastly, the vivid sharpness of the whole sculpturing, in which the tool-work is clear much beyond the ordinary, all combine to render this Bardristan slab unusually interesting and valuable.”

Less than twenty years after Coles’ description, the Royal Commission (1914) lads visited the site hoping to make their own assessment, but the carving had already been lost.  Referring to Coles’ account, they told how,

“inquiry there failed to elicit information concerning it, and it appears to have been lost. Mr Coles’ illustration…shows in the general intercommunication of the various cups a feature which characterises the stone at Kirkclaugh, about ¼ mile to the south of Bardriston.”

In the subsequent commentaries on this carving by Ron Morris (1967; 1979) and A.E. Truckell (1961), its whereabouts remained a mystery and, to this day, we know not what became of it…

References:

  1. Coles, Fred R., “A Record of the Cup-and-Ring Markings in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland, volume 29, 1895.
  2. Morris, Ronald W.B., “The Cup-and-Ring Marks and Similar Sculptures of South-West Scotland,” in Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society, volume 14, 1967.
  3. Morris, Ronald W.B., The Prehistoric Rock Art of Galloway and the Isle of Man, Blandford: Poole 1979.
  4. Morris, Ronald W.B. & Bailey, Douglas C., “The Cup-and-Ring Marks and Similar Sculptures of Southwestern Scotland: A Survey,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland, volume 98, 1967.
  5. Royal Commission Ancient & Historical Monuments & Constructions of Scotland, Inventory of Monuments and Constructions in Galloway – volume 2: County of the Stewatry of Kirkcudbrightshire , HMSO: Edinburgh 1914.
  6. Truckell, A.E., “Cup-and-Ring-Marked Slabs in the Cairnholy and Auchinlarie Area,” in Transactions of Galloway & Dumfriesshire Natural History & Antiquarian Society, volume 40, 1961.

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

Balimeanach (3), Loch Earn, Comrie, Perthshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 64118 22897

Getting Here

Balimeanach (3) carving

Loch Earn (between the villages of Lochearnhead and St Fillans) has a road running on each side: the north-side is the A85, the south-side is a minor single-track road.  You need to be on the south-side. Roughly halfway along the loch, there’s rough parking near Ardvorlich House; and from the track to Ardvorlich, keep on the lochside road, walking east for about 400 yards and then go up the dirt-track on your right.  Walk up here for 450 yards until your reach the cottage. There’s a field above you to the left with some small crags near the top: walk uphill (through the gate) for 175 yards and on the topmost crags you’ll see a telegraph pole.  The cup-and-ring stone is right next to it!

Archaeology & History

The first and only reference to this stone followed its rediscovery by George Currie (2011) in one of his many bimbling forays seeking out these old carvings.  He told, in his usual minimalist manner that,

“A stretch of bedrock adjacent to a telegraph pole on a terrace above Balimeanach farmhouse bears thirteen cup marks, at least two of which have single rings, including the largest at 70 x 25mm.”

Line of cup-and-rings

View from above

The two cup-and-rings are next to each other on the northen side of the stone, with one based on a small concave depression in the rock itself; but next to this is what seems to be another, third and very faint incomplete cup-and-ring (you can see it in some of the photos here).  We walked round and round this and whilst it seems quite obvious, some elements of it appear to be based on natural cracks in the stone, accentuated with minimal pecking by the artist.  These three cup-and-rings are next to each other in a veritable Orion’s Belt formation, with a single cup hanging down from the middle.

Carving, looking south

Looking across the design

The other main section of the carving consists of a series of plain cups, scattered in a typically chaotic form and clustering mainly round the centre of the stone; whilst on its southern tip a single cup sits quietly.

When we peeled the turf back to see the entire carving, we found there was a considerable scatter of broken quartz all along the western edge of the stone.  This element was also found at the Balimeanach (2) carving less than ten yards away and we’ve found this at a number of other petroglyphs in Perthshire and beyond.  Even more intriguing was a large carved stone spearhead covered in soil alongside the quartz scatter!  We left this where we found it.

In all probability, there are other carvings that remain undiscovered beneath the turf all along this ridge.  Get y’ gardening gloves out!

References:

  1. Currie, George, “Comrie: Balimeanach (BC 3), Cup-marked Rock”, in Discovery & Excavation Scotland, New series – volume 12, 2011.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Balimeanach (2), Loch Earn, Comrie, Perthshire

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Cup-Marked Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 64118 22892

Archaeology & History

Faint cups, bottom right

Less than ten yards south of the Balimeanach (3) petroglyph, this innocuous-looking cup-marked stone can be seen.  Paul Hornby and I came across it when looking for the adjacent carving.  Comprising of between three and five very faint shallow cups, when we peeled some of the turf over we found a broken hand axe resting on the rock itself.  We assumed that this had been the instrument that had been used to knock the cups into being.  There were also many small shards of quartz crystal all along the inner edge of the stone: a feature that we and others have found at quite a number of carvings in the Scottish mountains.  We left the ruined hand axe where we found it.

4? faint cups in a square

The impression we got here is that the cups are so shallow because the design was never actually completed.  Instead, perhaps, they turned to look at the stone ten yards away and thought it was a better choice to cut a more ornate design… Perhaps… It seems pretty likely that other unrecorded carvings will be found close by on the many turf-covered rocks in this area.

Acknowledgements:  Huge thanks to Paul Hornby for use of his photo in this site profile. 

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Tarras Water, Canonbie, Dumfriesshire

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Cup-and-Ring Stone (lost):  OS Grid Reference – NY 3851 8149

Archaeology & History

A petroglyph that was rediscovered as recently as 2003, by J. Ward, has, it would seem, already been lost.  In all likelihood it has become hidden beneath vegetation.  Found near the Petrifying Well, the carving is archetypal, consisting of a single cup surrounded by two rings, on a low flat piece of rock on the south-side of the Tarras burn, only a few hundred yards above the road.  I’ve added the site here in the hope that a diligent petroglyph hunter can find it again and leave it open to the elements for us all to see.  Let us know if you find it.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian