Rock Art Database

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Section A. CORE INFORMATION

A1. Identifiers

Classifications And Periods

County

ARGYLL

A2. Grid Reference(original find site)

A3. Current Location & Provenance

Section B. CONTEXT

B1. Landscape Context

B2. Current land use & vegetation

• Rough Grazing

B3. Forestry

• No selection

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

• Other rock art
• Burial Mound/Cairn

B5. Location Notes

Glasvaar 7 is located on a small hillock which runs NE-SW in an area of undulating terrain approximately 1km NW of Glasvaar farmhouse. Limited views of hilltops can be seen to the W and a wider view of the opposite side of the valley is seen to the SE. The panel is located 10m to the W of the farm track, and approximately 15 m S of a junction between a post-and-wire fence and a stone field wall, close to a gate opening onto a track through the nearby forestry plantation. A group of 3 large deciduous trees are located approximately 50 m to the SW of the panel, in an area where there are the low turf-covered remains of several structures including a possible corn-drying kiln. Glasvaar 8 and 9 are located approximately 60 m S of Glasvaar 7, to the E of the farm track and stone wall.

Previous Notes

NM80SE 6 886 019. NM 885 019 About 500 yards north of Glasvaar farm buildings, 15 yards from the west corner of a field consisting mainly of a 'whale-back' outcrop of fissured schist, and on the horizontal top strip of the rock, are a number of rock carvings consisting of A: a basin 10" in diameter and 8" deep. B: two cups, each with one ring, 6" and 6 1/2" in diameter. The rings are complete and there are no grooves. C: a further 27 cups, one of which is 5" in diameter and 3" deep with traces of a surrounding ring. H Petzsch 1972; R W B Morris 1977. Thirty-seven cups seen in 1981, of which 6 are ringed, and rock-basin. M Campbell et al 1981. On eastward continuation of fissured rock ridge at a slightly lower level, over an area c 3.2m N-S and 1m E-W, 35 plain cups, 5 cups with single rings, 2 cups with 2 rings, 5 cups with single rings some of which are shared and 1 cup with 7 concentric rings and at least 2 radial grooves (not all of this figure is clearly preserved). A Kahane 1982. NM 885 019. This group of cup-and-ring markings lies on a whale-backed outcrop immediately W of the track that leads NE from Glasvaar farm-steading and 22m S of a forestry plantation (Morris 1977; Petzsch 1972; Campbell 1981). The outcrop has two decorated surfaces, one on the crest of the ridge and the other on a terrace to the E. On the crest there are the weathered remains of seven cups with single rings, forty plain cups, three cups with gutters, and a later knocking-stone basin. The decoration on the lower surface is more complex and is largely unweathered as it is normally covered with turf (Kahane 1982). The principal feature is a cup and single ring with seven partial rings on the E; it is accompanied by a series of cups, some surrounded by single or double rings, others grouped within rings, and a number of plain cups and channels. Visited May 1984 RCAHMS 1988

Section C. PANEL

C1. Panel Type

C2. Panel Dimensions, Slope & Orientation

C3. Rock Surface

C4. Surface Features

• Fissures/cracks
• Natural Hollows
• Weathering Channels
• Rough surface

C5. Panel Notes

Glasvaar 7 is a large (5.4 x 2.3 m) outcropping ridge of rock in two sections: a rounded upper ridge and a lower platform adjacent to its SE. The entire panel measures 5.4 m by 2.3 m, with a maximum height of 1.4 m above the surrounding land. The upper section is oriented to the NNE at an incline of 13 degrees, while the lower section faces WSW at an incline of 12 degrees. The lower section was obscured by vegetation. The rock is fine-grained and is friable in some areas, which may accelerate erosion to motifs. Natural visible features include quartz veins, coloured bands, fissures/cracks, natural hollows, weathering channels, bedding planes. A significant part of the panel is turf-covered, and the lower platform is entirely hidden by turf. Both sections are heavily decorated with complex motifs, and comprise at least 81 single cupmarks (2 of which may be ringed), nine cups with rings, one cup with a ring and radial groove, three dumbells, three sets of conjoined cups and rings, and a cartouche. The panel also bears a conglomeration of six cups surrounded by a complex groove, and a cup with one ring and 7 partial rings. The panel also bears a large, rounded basin in its upper section which may or may not be prehistoric. Rock type identified using online information from the British Geological Survey.

C6. Probability

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

Comments

In addition to the motifs below, there are three sets of conjoined cups and rings, a cartouche, and a motif comprised of a cup with one ring and 7 partial rings

C7. MOTIFS

Visible Tool Marks? Yes

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

• Large areas of the rock are covered in lichen, moss or algae.
• There are shrubs growing on the rock surface.
• Water will pool deeply on parts of the surface.

Animal

• There are sheep near the rock.
• There are cattle near the rock.

Human

• No selection

Comments and other potential threats

No comments added