Achnabreck
Achnabreck is the largest archaeological site for cup and ring markings in the British Isles . It is located near Kilmartin in the Argyll and Bute region near the west coast of Scotland .
The carvings are in a coniferous plantation , where three metamorphic rocks, smoothly polished by glaciers, emerge. A distinction is made between the lower, middle and upper group of scratches, as well as the "eastern rock".
Two or more concentric rings, arranged around flat round pits ( German " Schälchen " - English cups ), are the theme of the rock carvings . In some cases, seven rings surround a bowl. In a number of cases a straight groove leads from the cup through the rings, to the edge of the outer ring, or beyond. The rings are clearly visible when the sun is low (especially in the late afternoon).
There is a greater variety of patterns on the northeast, partially damaged outcrop , including two double spirals and one triple spiral . At the outcrop in the southeast corner of the enclosure you will find more than 15 combinations of bowls with more than six rings.
Cup-and-ring markings , but also ringless bowls, are part of the particularly rich ritual landscape in the Kilmartin valley and decorate e.g. B. also some of the menhirs of Ballymeanoch . The double spiral of Achnabreck finds its parallel locally in the stone circle of Temple Wood .
Bronze Age artists preferred cup-and-ring markings. Perhaps they also re-used the older stones as support material and added not only the ring markings but also pictures of axes to Ri Cruin and Nether Largie North .
Except in Achnabreck in the nearby Cairnbaan , Ormaig and Glasvaar , larger and smaller ones were found in more than 25 places in this valley.
literature
- The Royal Commission on the Ancient and historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS): ARGYLL . Volume 6: Kilmartin . 1999, ISBN 1-902419-03-0 .
- Stan Beckensall: The prehistoric rock art of Kilmartin . Kilmartin House Trust, Kilmartin 2005, ISBN 0-9533674-2-8 .
Web links
- Achnabreck Cup And Ring Marks Historic Scotland
- Ormaig
Coordinates: 56 ° 3 ′ 36.2 " N , 5 ° 26 ′ 43" W.