Rock Art Database

POINT

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Canmore ID 39847 SCRAP ID 2439
Location OS Grid Ref: NR 99140 64389 Team Not in team
Existing Classifications
Classification Period
CUP AND RING MARKED STONE PREHISTORIC
Date Fieldwork Started 25/06/2018 Date Fieldwork Completed
New Panel? No  

Section A. CORE INFORMATION

A1. Identifiers

Panel Name POINT Number
Other names
HER/SMR SM Number Other
Classifications And Periods
Classification 1 Cup And Ring Marked Stone Period 1 Neol/bronze Age
County
ARGYLL

A2. Grid Reference(original find site)

OS NGR NR 99140 64390
New OS NGR NR 99140 64389
Lat/Long 55.83081 -5.20867
Obtained By:

A3. Current Location & Provenance

Located
  • At original location
Accession no. Not given

Section B. CONTEXT

B1. Landscape Context

Weather Sunny
Position in landscape Hillside
Topography(terrain within about 500m of panel.) Sloping
Aspect of slope (if on sloping terrain e.g. S, SE etc.) SSW

B2. Current land use & vegetation

  • Improved Pasture

B3. Forestry

  • No selection

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

  • Clearance cairn(s)

B5. Location Notes

This conspicuous boulder forms part of a small clearance cairn about 30m E of the farm track and 50m SE of the field gate in improved pasture on a gentle SE facing slope that continues to slope away towards the sea shore, approximately 150m to the south and east. There are extensive views south, east, and west from the boulder across the sea to Bute, Arran and Kintyre. The boulder may have been moved in the past when the field was cleared. There are a number of other small clearance cairns along the line of an old field boundary about 100m to SE, and along the current fence line 20m to the NE.

Previous Notes

NR96SE 1 9914 6439. NR 992 645. There is a prominent cup marked greywacke boulder 300 yds S of Point farmhouse, 25 yds from N field wall and 40 yds from W field wall. It is 70' OD, in good pasture, but with a rocky whin-covered area just to its N. It measures 9' x 6' x 3' high, and bears 13 cup marks up to 2" diameter and 1" deep. Round at least four of them is a very faint ring 4" in diameter, showing clearly on rubbing and in oblique light. According to Mr Crawford, there is also a second stone, not found by Morris in 1966, "lost sight of in the brushwood nearby" - presumably in the whin area to N. R W B Morris 1966; Information from R W B Morris Ms. NR 9915 6439. The boulder has four alignments of 17 cup marks on the S face, 7 of which are each surrounded by a single ring. No trace of the other stone was found. Surveyed at 1:2500. Visited by OS (I A) 25 October 1972. Described and illustrated. R W B Morris 1977. This cup-and-ring marked erratic block is situated in an arable field and lies on the crest of a slight rise 300m SSE of Point farmhouse. On its sloping face there are ten cups with single rings (one of which has a radial groove) and eighteen plain cupmarks. A second cupmarked stone, which is reported to lie in the adjacent field, was not located on the date of visit (Morris 1966). Visited June 1986 RCAHMS 1988

Section C. PANEL

C1. Panel Type

In the landscape Boulder/Slab

C2. Panel Dimensions, Slope & Orientation

Dimensions of panel (m to one decimal place)
Length (longer axis) 2.5 Width 1.3
Height (max) 1 Height (min) 0
Approximate slope of carved surface
25 degrees degrees
Orientation (Aspect e.g. NW)
Rock Surface SSW Carved Surface SSW Carved Surface

C3. Rock Surface

Surface Compactness Hard Grain Size Coarse Visible Anomalies Not Visible
Rock Type Greywacke

C4. Surface Features

  • Natural Hollows
  • Smooth Surface

C5. Panel Notes

This is a free standing erratic greywacke boulder rising to a max height of 1.0m, measuring 2.5x1.3m. The boulder is resting on some small stones which form part of the clearance cairn, suggesting it may have been moved in the past. The carved surface slopes gently to the SSW, and is damaged along its bottom edge which may have removed some of the carvings. The carved surface is relatively smooth but features a few small natural hollows, including a circular hollow on the top edge of the boulder which may have been enhanced by pecking. The visible motifs comprise 10 single cups, 9 cups with one ring, 1 cup with a ring and short groove, and a 'courgette', although there may be additional motifs that are too eroded to be visible with the eye. The cups vary in size from 8cm to 3 cm diameter. Some have obvious tool marks. The motifs appear to form several alignments. Towards the top of the boulder is a row of 3 cups with rings and a single cup. Two of the cup and ring motifs have conjoined rings. On the lower part of the boulder are three rows of cups and cup and ring motifs. In the middle of the boulder is a pecked inscriptions with the letters JAML. Further letters are inscribed on the W face of the boulder. There are some peck marks on the top of the boulder.

C6. Probability

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

Comments

No comments added

C7. MOTIFS

Cupmark
cupmark_1
10
Cup and Rings
cup_and_ring_1
9
Radial
radial_1
1
Groove
groove_8
1
Other carvings and motifs
other_motif_4
1

Visible Tool Marks? Yes

Visible Peck Marks? Yes

Section D. ACCESS, AWARENESS & RISK

D1. Access

  • Right to Roam access.

D2. Awareness

  • No selection
There are stories or folk traditions associated with this panel No

D3. Risk

Natural
  • No selection
Animal
  • There are sheep near the rock.
  • There are cattle near the rock.
Human
  • There is graffiti (paintings and/or carving) on or near the rock.
Comments and other potential threats

No comments added