Rock Art - Cup & Ring Marks | Cairnbaan
Leacan nam Sluagh - The Stone of Hosting.
Footage of the western outcrop found at Cairnbaan.
The monument consists of prehistoric rock art carved on two areas of outcropping bedrock, about 100m apart. The area to the E contains three carved rock outcrops adjacent to each other, while the area to the W comprises a single, carved rock panel lying flush with the ground. The rock art was created probably in the early prehistoric period, between about 3500 BC and 2500 BC. The monument lies at around 60m above sea level on relatively flat ground part way up slopes that form the W side of the valley of the Badden Burn. Today the rock outcrops lie in thinned plantation woodland, but originally (in the absence of trees) this site would have offered views to Lochgilphead and the sea to the SE, over Crinan Moss, and to the valley bottom to the S where Cairnbaan lies today.
The rock outcrops form two groups, which differ in style. The easternmost comprises three substantial outcrops, adjacent to each other and now enclosed by metal railings. The largest decorated rock panel measures approximately 8m by 2m. It is decorated with a pair of cups surrounded by three partial rings, one cup with two rings, three cups within a single ring, sixteen single cups with single rings, at least sixty plain cups, and several lengths of grooving. A particular feature of this sheet is the long gutters that run downslope from seven of the cups at the S end of the outcrop. The other two outcrops measure 3.5m by 2m and 2.6m by 2m. Their carvings comprise mainly plain cupmarks: six on the outcrop towards the centre of the enclosure; and three cups with double rings and six plain cups on the outcrop at the NW of the enclosure. The panel located around 100m to the W measures 2m by 3m and is not enclosed by railings. It is decorated with a complex series of markings, the most distinctive of which are a number of conjoined multiple-ringed cups. Six of these are surrounded by four rings, one by three rings, seven by two rings, and eight by single rings; several of the ringed cups have gutters. There are also at least fifteen plain cups and stretches of wandering grooves. At the bottom right of the outcrop is a badly weathered, unusual carving, consisting of a broad shallow cup surrounded by a single ring, which is linked to the cup by a series of rays.
The area to be scheduled consists of two distinct polygons. The easternmost is a trapezium shape on plan and contains the area enclosed by the metal railings and 15m beyond the railings on all sides. The second is a circle, 20m in diameter, centred on the westernmost outcrop. These areas include the remains described above and an area around them within which evidence relating to the monument's construction, use and abandonment may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map. The scheduled area specifically excludes the above-ground elements of the metal railings and interpretation board to allow for their maintenance.
Other carved rock outcrops around Kilmartin Glen include:
Ballygowan
Baluachraig
Achnabreac
Kilmichael Glassary
Other monuments include:
Dùn Ad Hill Fort
Dunchraigaig Cairn
Glebe Cairn
Nether Largie North Cairn
Nether Largie Mid Cairn
Nether Largie South Cairn
Ri-Cruin Cairn
Temple Wood Stone Circle
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