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MHG63213 - Cup and ring marked stone - Cnoc Ravoch

Summary

A cup and ring marked stone at Cnoc Ravoch.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

NH56SE 7 554 614.

Several separate specimens of cup-marks may be seen above Uplands (NH 555608) on the way to Fluchlady (NH 553620)
N Macrae 1923. <1>

Not located. Visited by OS (N K B) 30 June 1965.

Located and recorded by John Wombell in 2010. At NH 55412 61886 is a prostrate sandstone slab c2m E/W x 1.5m, with 64 cups of varying sizes on it, all very eroded, two of which are extended into 'sausages'. The decoration appears placed to fit within several natural fissures on the slab, and of particular interest is a penannular ring groove connecting 6 cups in a horseshoe shape around a central cup, with an 8th cup in the opening of the ring. This is an unusual motif nationally, which is repeated on the Fairy Stone at the Bottacks above Strathpeffer and on a number of other decorated stones in the area. A drawing of the surface of the slab was submitted to the HER in November 2010. <2><3>

This panel was recorded as part of the ScRAP (Scotlands Rock Art project) by members of NoSAS in Decenber 2018. The panel is located on a southeast facing slope, not actually on Cnoc Ravoch, which is to the southeast with the Cromarty Firth beyond. Cnoc Ravoch has a circular enclosure close to the top (Canmore 12900). Allt a'Ghaill is about 60m to the south. There are at least five springs within 500m of the panel. None of the surrounding area is currently visible from the panel. ScRAP 2203 Fleuchlady is about 350m north up the hill in open ground, and the photographs on that record give a very good idea of the general area. The panel is not easy to locate, being in recently planted dense trees. The best way (see location sketch) is to find the third fence post south from the bend in the fence and push in through the trees for about 15m where there is a very small clearing. Note that the MyCanmore attachment to Canmore 12916 has pictures of this panel taken in 2010 before the trees were planted. (Note, this relationship to Canmore 12916 is incorrect as it a stone of similar shape but at a different location and with fewer cupmarks - Uplands 1, MHG8933 - T.Blackie 19/4/24)

The panel is approximately oval, measuring 2.8m by 1.7m, on schist with gneissose areas. It lies low in the ground, and has a low ridge running north-south. The smaller west part of the panel slopes at about 30deg to the west, and the much larger east part at about 20deg to the east. A clear straight natural fissure divides the panel almost equally into north and south halves. A further fissure, running approximately north-south separates about 20% of the east area of the panel, on which there is a single cup. Low down on the west part of the panel is a single cup with a faint ring. There are several larger cups which show internal natural 'rings' of lighter minerals due to the gneissose fabric of the rock. There is also a dumbbell, a 'courgette', and a complex rosette arrangement of partly linked cups. Some of the cups are relatively small and indistinct. As drawn the totals are: 1 cup with 1 ring, 1 dumbbell, 1 'courgette', 1 partial rosette incorporating 7 cups, 5 larger cups, and 53 other cups, some indistinct. <4>

NGR adjusted based on 2018 vertical aerial photographs. <5>

Sources/Archives (6)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NH 5540 6190 (10m by 10m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NH56SE
Geographical Area	ROSS AND CROMARTY
Civil Parish	DINGWALL

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Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (2)