Rock Art Database

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Section A. CORE INFORMATION

A1. Identifiers

Classifications And Periods

County

INVERNESS-SHIRE

A2. Grid Reference(original find site)

A3. Current Location & Provenance

Section B. CONTEXT

B1. Landscape Context

B2. Current land use & vegetation

• Urban/Garden
• Rough Grazing

B3. Forestry

• No selection

B4. Archaeological Features within 200m / or visible from the panel

• Field System
• Settlement
• Ditch/Bank

B5. Location Notes

The panel lies on the S facing slope of the hill overlooking the junction of the River Enrick with Loch Ness. The Drumbuie Burn lies to the NW and there are new houses to the SW of the site. In the past the site has been part of the crofting landscape and there is an old turf and stone dyke about 10m to the SW of the panel. The field around the panel is rough grazing and the post and wire fence of the field is 1m S of the panel. There are several prehistoric sites in the area, a Clava type cairn to the W, hut circles lie to the N and the multiperiod site of Garbeg is about 1km to the E.

Previous Notes

NH53SW 3 52172 31330 There is an extensive area of cup-markings on the naturally polished east end of a glaciated ridge of sandstone, on the moor, just beyond the dike between Easter and Wester Achtuie. The ridge runs E.N.E. and is covered with stunted heather. It is impossible to say how many cup-marks there are, as some are covered by turf, but the author has traced 88 varying in size from 1" to 3" in diameter, and in depth from a barely roughened surface to 1 1/8" The cupmarked surfaces lie in a rough line NE- SW and about 40 yards long. A Grant 1888 In the area centred at NH 521312, on a piece of outcropping rock, three cup-marks about 2" across by 1/2" deep can be seen. As the greater part of the ridge is now grass and heather covered, no other cup marks were found and there is no local knowledge of any such markings. Surveyed at 1/2500. Visited by OS (R D) 4 December 1964 Two smooth sheets of bedrock immediately to the NE of the enclosed fields around Wester Achtuie bear thirteen cup-markings between them, each measuring about 70mm across and 10mm in depth. (URQ97 10) Visited by RCAHMS (DCC) 1 September 1997

NH 5219 3125 A watching brief was conducted in July 2010 during groundbreaking works for a new house and garage to the SE of Wester Achtuie cup-marked stone (NH53SW 3). The work revealed no archaeological features or deposits. Archive: RCAHMS (intended). Report: Highland Council Archaeological Unit Funder: Mr E Fraser

Section C. PANEL

C1. Panel Type

C2. Panel Dimensions, Slope & Orientation

C3. Rock Surface

C4. Surface Features

• Fissures/cracks
• Natural Hollows
• Weathering Channels

C5. Panel Notes

This comprises two adjacent areas of exposed outcrop on a sandstone ridge, measures 2 x 0.9m overall and 0.2m maximum height. In the past more of the sandstone outcrop was visible but now only these two areas are exposed. Other carvings may still be below the deeper turf as up to 88 cups were counted in 1888. As the outcropping rock surfaces were only 1m apart, and it is likely that they were continuous below the turf, they were treated as one panel. The S part of the panel has 13 cupmarks and a single oval cupmark, all lying at the E end of the outcrop, with a few fissures and a weathered channel lying E-W. The N part of the panel has 2 fissures lying roughly NW-SE. There are 4 cupmarks at the E end of this outcropping area and a single cupmark towards its W end.

C6. Probability

The probability that there is any rock art on the panel is Definite

Comments

1 oval cup mark

C7. MOTIFS

Visible Tool Marks? No

Visible Peck Marks? No

Section D. ACCESS, AWARENESS & RISK

D1. Access

• Right to Roam access.
• Panel is on Private land.

D2. Awareness

• Panel was known before the project.
• This panel is known to others in the local community.

There are stories or folk traditions associated with this panel No

D3. Risk

Natural

• No selection

Animal

Human

• No selection

Comments and other potential threats

No comments added