Notice of Cup-Maeked Stones Near Abeefeldy. by the Ebv
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CUP4IAKKED STONES NEAR9 ABERFELDY10 . IV. NOTICE OF CUP-MAEKED STONES NEAR ABEEFELDY. BY THE EBV. HUGH MACMILLAN, D.D., LL.D., F.S.A. SCOT. Few districts in Britain have more numerous examples of prehistoric sculpture than that whic s hcomprisei d withi na radiu mile5 r f 4o :so s around the village of Aberfeldy, in the Highlands of Perthshire. Up- ward f twento s y well-marked specimens occu n thii r s districtd an ; though they do not diverge much from the common type, yet they exhibit individual peculiarities which make eac f theho m well worthf yo e beautifuvisita Th . l e interestinscenerth d yan g associatione th f o s spot whicn si h the foune yar d len theo dt additionan ma l charm. Above e highesth t waterfal f Monesso l e well-knowth , n Birk f Aberfeldyo s , which Burn immortalises sha songn di , n uplanthera s ei d hamlet called bees Urlarha n t inhabiteI . d from time immemorial housed ol e sth t bu ; have disappeared, and only a modern shooting-lodge now remains. It is a lonely spot, surrounde n oasia f cultivatedy o sb d verdur e midsth n i te of brown heath-covered moorlands littlA . e beyon e shooting-lodgth d e ther mouna s ei d left untille e midsgrassa th p f to o n t i dye fieldth n o , of which there are obscure traces of a cairn. On the lower side of this mound a small ridge of rock projects a few inches above the side, s outeit n ro exposed an d edge ther e thirty-twar e o well-executed cups (fig. 1), from two to three inches in diameter, and about an inch in depth. e s turencroacheha Th f d mean upoy a shoveb e rock f t nth o s bu I ,l remove a dconsiderabl e portio , disclosinit f o n g several additional cups. f roce haro Th s kdi mica slate prevailine th , ge district th roc f d o kan , s beeha n considerably weatherede cupsth t , protecteBu . y greb d y crustaceous lichens, have sustained very little injur theiy yb r lon- gex posure. One part of the rock has on it a group of four larger and deeper cups than the others, connected with one another by means of inter- mediate grooves. One of the grooves opens out upon the edge of the rock, indicatin otherse e e outleth th Th f gs meano e t.b tha wa o t t i t positio f thino s remarkable sculptured easte commandd rocdu an , s ki sa 110 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, JANUARY 14, 1884. magnificen te dee vieth pf w o richl y woodee th f de Birkso delth d f o lan , highly ciiltivated valley of Strathtay, bounded in the distance by the mountain ranges of Ben Vrackie and Ben-y-ghloe, in Athole. Like the monks of old, who chose the most beautiful places for the sites of their monasteries and abbeys, the prehistoric people seem also to have selected for their rude stone monument e mosth s t prominent positions, from whenc e grandesth e d mosan t t extensive e surroundinviewth f o s g country might be obtained. Especially was this the case with regard to cup-marked rocks, whose localities are more restricted in area than cup-marked boulders, whic l e founkindal ar h f n situationdi so s almost indiscriminately. Onl e otheyon r cup-marked rocs beeha k n founn di Fig. 1. Edge of Rock with Cup-Marks at Urlar, Aberfeldy. this part of Perthshire, the splendid example of Craggan-tol, or the Rock- of-Holes, at the foot of Ben Lawers, about 14 miles distant; and it too, likUrlae eth r rock, occupie prominensa t position commandin gmagnia - ficent view. The examples of rock sculpture on Ilkley Moor in York- shire, near "Wooler in Northumberland, and at Crinan in Argyllshire, have all the same peculiarity. shorA t distance abov e villageth Aberfeldyf eo , where General Wade's old road emerges from the houses, a huge stone, called the Clach Mhor, lies on the left-hand side in a slanting position half erect, as if supported gardee byth n wal whicf o l t formi h formes i parta st I harf .do d mica slate interspersed with veins of l .likelihoo quartzal n I . t originalli d y stood erect, and formed one of a group of similar stones, its companions CUP-MARKED STOKES NEAR ABERFELDY. Ill having been broken up in the formation of the road. I am led to form this conjecture fro face mth t tha e eminencname th th t slop e f eo th en eo of whic t e i hstand" th Tullich, s i s " which mean a tumuluss d an , must hav etime beeon e t nassociatea d with sepultur religiour eo s worship. On the upper face there are some small cup-markings, not quite so well- formed as usual, owing to the hardness of the material. There is a tradition that those marks were mad o receivet e grapplineth g ironf so General Wade's sapper d mineran s thein i s r effort rais o removt d s ean e stone th e away fro t e roadthimth Bu s . traditio obviousls ni aften ya r suppositio o accounnt r markingsfo t e f whictruo th , ee hnaturus d an e ager fo s d beeha n forgotten. Thein peculiaritiesow r face th t d thaan , t they occur on only one side of the stone, and are scattered indiscriminately l ove al s surfaceit r skilles e i sufficien ar o , n di wh o convince t t on y an e the subject that they are genuine specimens of prehistoric sculpture. Following this road farther up, some obscure cup-marks may be seen o hugna e stone lying beside others equally large, behin gardene dth a f so rude hamlet called Tigh-an-leachan. This Gaelic twofola nam s ha ed signification meay ma n t eitheI House .Stonese House th rth th f eo r o ,e of the Hill Pasture. It is probable that a wild common was called Leachan, from the fact that it was always rough with boulders, in contradistinction to the fields around the homestead, which were cleared of stones, and covered uniformly with smooth grass. In this sense, the name of the place is not now appropriate; hut I remember in my boy- hood that this hamlet marked the limit of cultivation in this direction, and that beyond it, up the hill, stretched wild, marshy boulder-strewn pasturage for the cows of the village, which had never been broken up by spad ploughr eo . About half a mile beyond Tigh-an-leachan, is Pitilie, the residence of my friend the Eev. John Maclean, who has made a special study of the cup-marked e stonedistrictth f o s ; mos s himself whico ha t e h f dis- s e beneficompanhi th f coveredd o t ha n visitini y I e .differen th g t indebtem a I e informatior mucth dfo m f examplehi o h o t nd san ; contained in this report. In the farm-yard beside his house, among a numbed quernsol f o r , mill-stones d stonan , e lamps s preservedi , r fo , greater security slaa , f micaceoubo s schist whic originalls hwa y fount a d 2 11 PEOCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F O S , JANUAR , 188414 Y . Gatehouse Generan o , l Wade' roadd wasd sol an ,, aboubrokee b o t tp nu into buildin e sideon , n gobviouslo materials ha e undet I yth . r side, seventeen cups rudely formed, one of which has a well-defined ring round havy ma e d beeitan ; n usea a cistcove s r da , fo rwhic probabls hwa y destroyed whil roae beins eth dwa g littlfiela a made t n da I e .distanc e off, among others protruding abov e soileth , ther flaa s ti e stone almost covered wite grassth h y sodn whicho , , whe I nremove e turfth dI , exposed nine shallow cups of unusually small size, which had been almost obliterated by weathering. On Murthly Farm, about 300 yards farther east, there is an extensive mound with large boulders laid along its sides, in somewhat regular lines, as if forming the foundation of some primitive fortification. Mane boulderth f yo s have been broke pieceo nt s by gunpowde partialld ran y removed thin I s. way I hav, doubto en , some interesting prehistoric objects have been destroyed. But there are no less than seven cup-marked stones still remaining on the spot. The most remarkable is a large mass weighing about 14 tons, of greenish grey, coarsely crystalline granular diorite, rounde rubbed dan d smoothle th n yo surface by glacial action, and marked by deep, straight artificial-looking furrows. This boulde s evidentlrwa (fig) 2 . y transported froa m mountain e rangnorth-easth o et f Glenlochayo t mile0 4 , s distant, where intrusive sheets and dykes of this mineral of considerable extent may be found in situ among the crystalline schists. On the highest part of this boulder there are ten cups more or less distinct, one of which has a ring n ovad anothea roun an f l o , shapedit s i r inche6 , s4 inche lond gan s wide s sid,it witey b connectesmala h p cu l a verd y wityb short i h t groove.