Cup-and-ring marking

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“Labirintos de Mogor”: Cup-and-ring marking from Marin, Province of Pontevedra / Galicia
Cup marking from Laxe das Rodas in Galicia Spain
Cup-and-ring motif from the Alps , (Carschenna), Switzerland
Carschenna
Reyfad rock carvings , Northern Ireland

Cup-and-ring markings ( English cup-and-ring markings ) are abstract prehistoric petroglyphs , a special kind of rock art or hierograms , which are mainly found in the British Isles (with the exception of the Orkney and Shetland Islands ), but also in the Alps and on the Atlantic coast of continental Europe, as is found in Spanish Galicia .

description

The mark consists of a concave recess of a few centimeters depth, often in a pending on the surface, smooth stone formation is inserted picks, mostly by glacial Gletscherschliff originated. The “cup”, called a bowl in Germany , is regionally surrounded by “rings”, concentric circles. Their number varies between one and five, but higher numbers are also occasionally used. In the archaeological park of Monte Tetón , near Tomiño, in Galicia , Spain, there are large combinations of concentric petroglyphs. "Group 3", with 18 concentric rings, has a maximum diameter of 3.5 m and is one of the largest rock carvings of this type in Europe. Sometimes a linear channel runs out from the center of the bowl. Cup-and-ring markings also occur in association with other motifs ( spirals ) or groups of motifs, whereby the variety of patterns is astonishingly large. The equally common "cup markings", on the other hand, are bowls without rings; on the other hand there are innumerable concentric circles without bowls.

British Islands

Around 6,000 cup-and-rings are known for Great Britain, including over 2,000 in Scotland. The number of individual sites, which also contain finds without a ring and other stone drawings and which are collectively referred to as rock art , are estimated at around 7,000 for the British Isles , of which 3,500 in England, 2,500 in Scotland, 75 in Wales and 65 in Northern Ireland and 750 in the Republic of Ireland. Starting from the north of England, a database is being set up that will ultimately include all finds from that part of the country. A comparable five-year project was started in Scotland in 2017 by Historic Environment Scotland .

There is talk of around 50,000 cups, 7,500 of which are surrounded by rings. The decoration also appears as a petroglyphic element on menhirs , boulders and megaliths , but also on stones of the Irish passage tombs Knowth and Newgrange or those of the clava type in Scotland, as well as in some basements .

Time position Great Britain

Most of the rock art is from the Neolithic and the earlier Bronze Age (3800 to 1500 BC), but the dating remains imprecise within this period. In addition to the problem that individual motifs and plates have been modified over time, there are other reasons. Rocks can rarely be directly connected to datable objects. In addition, the cup-and-ring style usually does not allow for stylistic associations such as are possible on ceramics or other artifacts. An example where rock art can be more reliably dated for stylistic reasons is the affinity with designs on certain ceramics, particularly the Neolithic Age in the Passage Tombs in Ireland. The designs, relatively few of which have been found in England, include geometric patterns, particularly interlocking triangles, angles and diamonds, which are so different from the cup-and-ring motifs that it is appropriate to consider them as a different (presumably older) Kind of artifacts to look at. But they also appear within the time span of the cup-and-ring tradition, and in some cases have been found alongside cups-and-rings. Their application can be between 3500 and 2000 BC. BC, extended to a shorter period.

OGS Crawford argued in "The Eye Goddess" that the Neolithic concentric circles in Europe represented the eye of a goddess.

Scandinavia

In Scandinavia, 250 places are known where bowls (without rings) were found, including the Slutarpsdösen , which has over 55 bowls ( Swedish älvkvarnar). Döse and Dysse are names for dolmens .

Alpine region, Iberian Peninsula, Brittany and Sardinia

Col du Lein

Neolithic rock carvings of concentric circles are known on Carschenna near Sils in Domleschg in the canton of Graubünden and from Col du Lein (Pas du Lin) which connects the Rhone Valley with the Val de Bagnes in Switzerland . In the west of the Iberian Peninsula , d. H. In the north of Portugal , in Galicia and nearby (e.g. in the area around Lucillo , province of León ) there are similar incisions - some even show labyrinth-like motifs. They appear on the megalithic tombs of Gavrinis and Pierres-Plates in Brittany as well as on the menhir of Sa Perda Pinta , Sardinia .

South America

The Quimbaya petroglyphs in Colombia .

See also

literature

  • Stan Beckensall, Tim Laurie: Prehistoric Rock Art of County Durham, Swaledale and Wensleydale. County Durham Books, Durham 1998, ISBN 1-897585-45-4 .
  • Stan Beckensall: Prehistoric Rock Art in Northumberland. Tempus Publishing, Stroud 2001, ISBN 0-7524-1945-5 .
  • Stan Beckensall: Prehistoric Rock Art in Cumbria. Tempus Publishing, Stroud 2002, ISBN 0-7524-2526-9 .
  • Rachel Butter: Kilmartin. Scotland's richest prehistoric landscape. An Introduction & Guide. Kilmartin House Trust, Kilmartin 1999, ISBN 0-9533674-0-1 .
  • Evan Hadingham: Ancient Carvings in Britain. A mystery. Garnstone Press, London 1974, ISBN 0-85511-391-X .
  • Gordon T. Holmes: 2,000 BC. A Cup & Ring Stone Trek. Millennium edition. SASRG, Shipley 1998, ISBN 0-9524804-3-3 .
  • Ronald WB Morris: The Prehistoric Rock Art of Argyll. Dolphin Press, Poole 1977 ISBN 0-85642-043-3 .
  • Ch.Züchner: The Archaeological Background of the Cup-and-Ring-Marks of NW-Spain . Flagstaff Congress files, 1994

Web links

Commons : Cup marks  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b HES to put Scotland's Rock Art in Context. Historic Environment Scotland press release dated June 30, 2016, accessed June 7, 2018
  2. How much is there and where is it? English Rock Art Project website, accessed June 7, 2018