This one’s easy as it’s right by the roadside, so making it dead easy for those lazy ones amongst you who don’t like walking! You can find it just past the turn-off (signed) for Acharn Lodge, a few hundred yards along the A827 road (off the A85 by the garage) from Lix Toll, less than a mile before reaching Killin.
Archaeology & History
This solitary standing stone, not much more than about three feet tall, originally stood in the adjacent field and was moved to the edge of the road sometime ago. It was described briefly in William Gillies’ Breadalbane (1938) where he said, “Its height is 3 feet 10 inches and its girth at the base 6 feet 2 inches… This solitary stone is possibly the sole survivor of a group that once formed a circle,” though gives no more information to support this idea. It seems more likely that the stone accompanied a cairn, that was levelled by farming sometime in the 19th century.
References:
Gillies, William A., In Famed Breadalbane, Munro Press: Perth 1938.
Go thru Killin and, just past the Bridge of Lochay hotel, take the tiny road on your left. Go down here for 3 miles till you pass the gorgeous Stag Cottage (with its superb cup-and-rings in the field across the road) for another 300 yards, past Duncroisk Farmhouse set back on your right, then over the small river bridge. Just over the bridge there’s a gate on your left. Go thru this and up the track until you get to another large gate. Go thru this, then walk immediately left where you’ll notice a large-ish boulder sat on the nearby slope ahead of you in a part of some very old walling. That’s your target!
Archaeology & History
The title of this carving is slightly misleading, as the stone concerned is about 50 yards west of the fast-running burn. But it’s pretty easy to locate. When we visited the stone recently, as the photos show, the rock was all-but covered in a beautiful patchwork of lichen and moss, inhibiting the visibility of a quite impressive carving. But we have to let this be.
The carving’s on the big rock by tree, in the wallingLine of walling clearly evident
The carved rock plays an important part in a line of ancient prehistoric walling, which looks Iron Age in nature, but without an excavation we’ll not know for certain. The walling is quite extensive and is an integral part of the extended derelict village of Tirai, with its standing stones and other monuments. This begs the questions: was the carving executed before or after the walling was created? Was the stone carved in traditional neolithic/Bronze Age periods and later accommodated into the walling?
Even in the grey overcast light of a winter’s day when we first visited here, many cups were clearly visible on the rock’s surface, but they were difficult to contextualize in terms of artificial and natural aspects of the stone. Later visits here at the end of Spring enabled a much better assessment — though capturing the surrounding “rings” proved difficult. The carving is shown highlighted on Ron Morris’ (1981) map of the cluster of Duncroisk carvings, and described as a:
“domed schist boulder, 2½m by 2m, 1¼m high (8ft x 6ft x 4ft). On its top, mostly where sloping…are: 2, and possibly 3, cups-and-one-ring, much weathered and only visible when wet in very low sun, probably un-gapped, and at least 32 cups. Diameters up to 17cm (6½in) and depths up to 1cm.”
But this is only half the story. Despite what Mr Morris and the more recent Canmore records tell us about this carving, there are in fact at least 52 cups on the surface of the rock, at least two of which have definite ring-like forms around them. The largest of the cups has linear features around a large section of it, but to ascribe these elements as ‘rings’ is also stretching it a bit — as one of the photos here clearly shows. The ‘ring’ consists more of two separate straight lines with curvaceous ends: more like a right-angled carving with a swerve than any traditional ring. It’s a quite unique feature by the look of things.
Faint cup-and-ring and cups…and…Cups & right-angled lines
The majority of the carved cups and lines occur on the eastern side of the boulder, with only a few singular cups almost fading their way onto its western sloping sides. And of primary visual interest are the swirl of cups that surround two small cups at the ESE corner of the rock. These give the impression of running into another swirl of cups that hedge their ways around the edges of the largest cup-and-right-angled-lines, until bending back up and along the southern-side of the stone. This possibly deliberate sequence of cups then continues in roughly the same form back upwards to near the top-middle of the rock and onto a complete cup-and-ring. Just above the top of this runs a short pecked line just detached from the cup-and-ring, but of obvious mythic relevance in the story which this carving once told.
RWB Morris’ sketch of the design
It’s an absolutely fascinating carving which gives the distinct impression of narrating a myth of journeying, by either a person, tribes or ancestral beings. Of course we’ll probably never know for sure what story it once told; but its tale may have been known by the people of the once proud village of Tirai which was only destroyed a couple of centuries ago, along whose fallen walls this great stone still rests within…
And finally, for those students exploring the potential relationship that cup-and-rings may have with water: please note that in wet conditions, a spring of water emerges right underneath the very base of this large rock.
…to be continued…
References:
Morris, Ronald W.B., The Prehistoric Rock Art of Southern Scotland, BAR 86: Oxford 1981.
Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, Archaeological Sites and Monuments of Stirling District, Central Region, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 1979.
Two real ways to get here. Either (i) follow the directions to get to the Stag Cottage carvings of Duncroisk 1, then walk down to the fence by the riverside and walk along to the left for a coupla hundred yards till you reach a second metal fence-post sticking out of a rock on the other side of the deer-fencing; or (ii) from the roadside burn a coupla hundred yards along the road before you reach Stag Cottage, follow it down to the riverside, then head along the footpath behind the fencing, parallel with the river’s edge. It aint far. Within 100 yards you’ll reach the stone with the metal pole sticking out of it and the carvings are on this!
Archaeology & History
Confusingly redesignated as Duncroisk 5 carving by the usually efficient Canmore people, we’re sticking with this stone’s original name given by Ronald Morris (1981) in his British Archaeological Report of this and nearby carvings — and a quite fascinating carving this is as well!
C.G. Cash’s drawingDuncroisk 3 stone
As with many cup-and-rings, erosion and lighting has a powerful effect on seeing the design correctly. On my visit here in recent months there were quite distinct additional elements in the carving which haven’t been noted by previous archaeologists. But in saying that, there were also some elements that were reported by the earliest antiquarians that proved difficult to see in the grey light of day when I was here. The earliest report of the carving by C.G. Cash (1912) told there to be five rings, whereas today only 3 or 4 are visible (though this will probably change when viewed in other lighting conditions).
When Mr Cash told of this stone in his essay on the antiquities of Killin it sounded as if it was lucky to have survived, as it had previously been dug out and left by the roadside, before then being reused by a local to fix a fence-post in! Mr Cash told us that the local,
“had used it as the foundation stone of the stretching post at the south end of the easternmost fence on the farm, and there I found it, near the brink of the river, buried in sand and turf. I cleared it and then in pouring rain crouched over it to make a hasty sketch. It bears eighteen cups, of which five are surrounded by rings. The largest cups are 2½ inches and the rings 6 inches in diameter.”
Ron Morris’ images
When I visited the place the weather was much the same as Mr Cash described: lovely teeming rain, typical of the mountains, with the surrounding trees breathing moisture onto the slopes as ever.
Years later when Ronald Morris (1981) came here he saw “4 cups-and-one-ring…probably complete rings, up to 12cm (5 in) in diameters and 10 cups up to 2cm deep.”
If you stand and face the stone, the cup-marking on its lower right side (see Morris’ old photo, above) has a pecked line running from it further to the right and down to the edge of the rock. You can clearly make it out on the top photo. This carved line also seemed to touch another carved line which can be seen running along the outer edge of the stone — although the poor light didn’t allow me to view this with absolute confidence. I’ll have another look at it again when I’m up in the area in May and hopefully confirm or deny it with greater confidence (and if anyone else gets here in the meantime, have a look and see what y’ think).
From the north side of Killin, take the minor road next to the Bridge of Lochay Hotel at Killin, past the hydroelectric station, through the wooded section until the fields open out again. The first gorgeous old house you come to is on the right-hand side of the road. Stop here! (I could really do with living here misself – tis a truly superb place!) You can ask the lady at the house where the carvings are and she’s very happy to point them out – they’re on the rocky crag near the bottom-end of the field on the other side of the road.
Archaeology & History
Drawing of the main carvings (after R.W.B. Morris)
What a brilliant setting and clump of carvings we have here! As you get to the rocky hillock in the field, you see that there are numerous rocks visible along the ridge, a number of which have carvings on them – some with just cups, but most possess a number of cup-and-rings. It’s an excellent spot! Depending on the time of year when you come here will determine whether or not you get a better look at the carvings or not. I’d recommended April and May as the best time, as the vegetation is at its lowest then. Visiting the site near the end of summer doesn’t give you as good a view — but even then, if you like your rock art, you’ll still love it! The rocks here are mainly quartzite schist, with a number of the surfaces being almost pure quartz. Intriguingly, none of the pure quartz sections appear to have been carved on.
The carvings here were first mentioned in an article by D. Haggart (1895), who described them as “a very remarkable set of incised rock sculptures…discovered lately in this neighbourhood by Mr John McNaughton.” And remarkable they are indeed! In Ronald Morris’ (1981) survey of this site — which he labelled Duncroisk 1 — he counted eight separate rock surfaces that had been carved, marking them as carvings a-h, but there are at least eleven of them here; and in all honesty, if we could strip the surface of the hill of its vegetation, we’d probably find a few more hidden away!
Cup-marked stone
As you’ve walked across the field from the road, past the first unrecorded cup-marked stone near the start of the rocky rise, we reach Mr Morris’s ‘stone A’ near the easternmost end of the ridge, which is just a small slab of stone with “at least 6 cup-marks” on its surface. It’s easily missed in poor light, so watch out. However, if you reach ‘stone b’ (described below), just walk back ten steps and you’ll see it.
Carved Stone B
Ten yards west is ‘Stone B’, seemingly split into two sections, whereupon we find “a cup-and-two-rings and at least 12 cups-and-one-ring, up to 19cm in diameter – some rings gapped, others not, some with and some without a radial groove from the cup, and some with a “runner” or cup in a ring. There are also at least 58 cups” on this section of rock. ‘Stone C’ can also be missed, this time due to its size and the fact that the larger cup-marked surfaces are ahead of you. But assuming you don’t miss it, this carving consists of “a well-preserved cup-and-two-complete-rings 25cm in diameter, and a cup.”
Carved Stone D
‘Stone D’ is just next to ‘stone C’, but with rather more ornate designs etched upon it. This is one of the more archetypal petroglyph designs that are found in the photo-guides and textbooks. Morris (1981) told that it consisted “of a cup-and-two-complete-rings and 2 cups-and-one-complete-ring up to 20cm in diameter, also a cup-and-one-complete-ring and 2 cups.” The photo here shows it pretty clearly.
Carved Stone ECurious ‘bowl’, top-centre
‘Stone E’ is the next one along, just a foot or two away and Mr Morris (1981) told that the carving consists of “2 cups-and-one-ring up to 13cm in diameters, 1 complete, the others gapped, joined by groove to a cup, and at least 33 cups (C.G. Cash counted 42 in 1911).” Most of the carved elements on this rock are around the edges of the stone. A very large faded circular depression, man-made, is also visible on this section of the petroglyph (above left), suggestive of lunar symbolism.
Carved Stone F
‘Stone F’ is less than 10 yards further west and has the greatest number of cup-markings of the entire group here, as Morris described: “3 cups-and-one-complete-ring up to 9cm in diameter, and at least 80 cups, a few of which are widely scattered over a big area sloping steeply further south, beyond the attached diagram.” It’s perhaps the most notable of the carved rocks along the ridge here — not by virtue of its design, more its geological physique than anything else.
Carved stone G
‘Stone G’ is next along and has a curious look about it, suggestive of more modern times. At first sight it doesn’t seem to have quite the magnitude that Morris’ description affords it, but on closer inspection by rolling some of the covering turf back away from the rock, you can see what he meant. This stone has “10 cups-and-one-complete-ring, up to 10cm diameter…and also 15 cups.” One of the cup-and-rings on this section was found by Morris to have been “the smallest so far recorded by the author in Scotland.”
Then we reach ‘stone H’ at the eastern end of the carved ridge, consisting of simply 3 cup-markings. One of them has a faint arc pecked around it. Further along the rock, a complete cup-and-ring is visible close to the edge.
This entire line of petroglyphs is a fine place in a fine setting, perfect for meditative practices! Other carvings can be found close by: Duncroisk 3 is a coupla hundred yards east across the field just over the fence by the riverside; and Duncroisk 2 is on the other side of the fence down towards the River Lochay on the same side of the adjacent burn less than 100 yards away (though this is trickier to reach). Other prehistoric sites can be found not too far away…
Folklore
Local people tell of having seen curious lights flitting along the edges of the field, river Lochay and roadside close to the carved rocks hereby.
Go through Killin past the Bridge of Lochay pub, turning immediately down the small lane by its side. After about 3 miles you’ll cross over the small river past Duncroisk. Keep going for another few hundred yards (if you reach Tullich you’ve gone too far), watching out for the gate on your left. Walk up to the top of this field, over the wall and up again. You’ll see a couple of tall trees with distinctive walling next to them, just on a ridge above you. That’s where you’re heading!
Archaeology & History
This is a fine-looking example of a prehistoric enclosure, perched on the edge of one of the grassy knolls on the far western extremities of the deserted village of Tirai. If you walk towards it from the derelict village east of here, the elliptical form of the site gives you the distinct impression that you’ve just chanced upon a seemingly unknown stone circle nestled upon the edges of this gorgeous Scottish glen; but this initial excitement is soon dispelled once you get into the heart of the site!
Southern line of wallingLooking east
Although you’ll find a couple of derelict post-medieval buildings on the western side of this structure, the lay-out of this monument would seem to be Iron Age origin, perhaps earlier. It certainly has all the hallmarks of a walled structure from that period and typifies many others that I’ve explored down the years.
The eastern and southern sections of the walls are in very good states of preservation, although the ground has obviously grown up and around the bases of the stonework. It has a total outer circumferences of about 95 yards (87m), with the many upright stones measuring between 12 inches to more than 3 feet in height. The western section of the enclosure is mostly overgrown but easily traced on foot. Near the centre of the site is a large flattish stone that gave the impression of having an oratory function from where one could speak to the rest of the people sat around the inner edges of the enclosure — but this was a purely subjective impression.
NE sections of enclosureOuter section & ‘standing stone’
On the southern side of the elliptical structure is another, outer line of walling, or a stone alignment of some sort just a few yards long, consisting of just a few upright stones — one of which stands considerably taller than all the others hereby, giving the impression of a standing stone. It has a large natural cup-marking on its southern face.
To my limited knowledge there’s been no excavations here, so one wonders whether or how or if the people of Tirai made use of this much earlier building. The Canmore entry of the place tells:
“The N side of this enclosure is a low turf and stone bank of height 0.3m and is 20m long, spread to about 1.2m. The E side is outlined by large stones set on edge with no evidence of intermediate stone walling or turf. A bank of similar more continuous stone extends to the W from the S of the main enclosure down sloping ground. This type of walling is different from any other on Tirai. The large stones set on end have suggested a prehistoric date for this enclosure.”
References:
Johnstone, A. & Wood, S., “Tirai (Killin Parish), Pre-Enclosure Settlements,” in Discovery & Excavation in Scotland, 1990.
From Killin, take the Glen Lochay Road past the Moirlanich Longhouse, but keep on for another mile, and take the track on the left up to Murlaganmore cottages. As the track turns right of the tree-line, cross the field (left) up towards the open gate as if you’re going to the Murlaganmore 2 carving, where you’ll see this large flattish rock in the grasses about 100 yards before it.
Archaeology & History
When we visited this old boulder last week, we had the misfortune of grey days and dark clouds throwing their faded light across this cup-marked rock, not really letting us see with any clarity the many cups which pepper (mainly) the edges of the rock. But the cups are faded anyway, so accounts tell, and the 15 which we counted were same 15 recorded about 100 years ago in C.G. Cash’s (1912) survey. There, he described this old stone as,
“about 200 yards south of the house, in the middle of the uppermost pasture. It is a large block of quartz schist stuck thick with garnets, and bearing fifteen cup-marks, only one of which — 3 inch in diameter and 1 inch deep — is really well defined, and several of which are faint.”
Faint cups barely visibleC.G. Cash’s early drawing
But despite the grey day (She was absolutely teeming with rain half of the time!), I found the setting here absolutely gorgeous, with the many shades of old trees and the clear blood of pure waters falling through the landscape. And, without doubt, there are other carved stones nearby that have yet to capture the attention of surveyors. You can smell them!
References:
Cash, C.G., ‘Archaeological Gleanings from Killin,’ in PSAS 46, 1911-12.
Royal Commission on Ancient & Historical Monuments, Scotland, The Archaeological Sites and Monuments of Stirling District, RCAHMS: Edinburgh 1979.
Take the same direction to reach the Murlaganmore Footprint, continuing up past the cottages. 100 yards on, where there’s a bend in the track, cross the field on your left and go thru the gate higher up the slope. Stick to the small rough ‘path’, past the Murlaganmore 1 carving for nearly 100 yards, where a small rocking-stone-like rock is ahead of you. That’s it!
Archaeology & History
Close-up of cup-marks
This stone’s in a lovely setting, with the craggy rise of Creag Mhor and the waterfall of Airigh an Fhraoich up the rich coloured slope behind it. But the carving here is a simple one, with perhaps only 2 cup-markings etched on the stone’s upper surface, as the photo here shows. Tis a lovely setting though, and there are other carved rocks living nearby which aint yet seen the pages of any record-books.
It was first mentioned in C.G. Cash’s (1912) essay on the antiquities of Killin and district, who told that here was “one well-cut cup, 3 inches in diameter and 1½ inches deep, and also a doubtful or faint one.” The carving was later listed in the Royal Commission’s Stirling District report (1979) as simply “a boulder bearing cup-marks.”
References:
Cash, C.G., ‘Archaeological Gleanings from Killin,’ in PSAS 46, 1911-12.
Royal Commission on Ancient & Historical Monuments, Scotland, The Archaeological Sites and Monuments of Stirling District, RCAHMS: Edinburgh 1979.
From Killin, take the small road to the Moirlanich Longhouse, but keep on for another mile. Just before the road crosses the river, stop! In the fields above you to the left are a few trees and some rocks. Walk uphill till you’re nearly level with the cottages at Murlaganmore (the gate’s about 10-15 yards away) just above the gorze bushes and check out the long rock. If you can’t see it at first, bimble about till you find it. You’re just about on it!
Although shown on modern OS-maps as a ‘Sculptured Rock’ and included in the Canmore survey, when we visited this site a few days ago I have to say that unless evidence to the contrary can be obtained, this ‘site’ should be declassified as an archaeological remnant of the prehistoric period. It appears to be natural — though could have had some agricultural purpose or origin in centuries past.
The ‘footprint’ appears to have been described first of all by F.W.L. Thomas (1879) in his essay on the inaugural seat of Kings at Dunadd, where a similar footprint is found at the top of the fort. Thomas thought that this curious footprint could have had a similar function — though even folklore hereabouts seems silent on such a matter. The site is included in Ron Morris’ 1981 survey, where he too described it as “probably natural but just possibly man-improved.”
References:
Morris, Ronald W.B., The Prehistoric Rock Art of Southern Scotland, BAR: Oxford 1981.
Thomas, F.W.L., ‘Dunadd, Glassary, Argyllshire: The Place of Inauguration of the Dalriadic Kings’, in Proc Soc Antiq Scot, vol.13, 1879.
Truly troublesome if you aint into walking. Many ways up, but the easiest has to be the zigzagging trackway up from the valley bottom just by The Green a few hundred yards past Lochay Power Station, up the southern edge of Creag na Cailleach. At the end of the trackway, take the stream uphill for a few hundred yards and watch out for the rocky rise to your right (east). Head for it and check out the rocks there. You’ll find it!
Archaeology & History
Single cup-marked rock below Creag na Cailleach
I’m not sure that anything’s previously been written about this curious single cup-marked boulder. I say ‘curious’, simply because of the location and position of the clear cup-mark on this near-gigantic piece of embedded stone. We walked upon the rocky outcrop south of Creag na Cailleach (above the tree-line where the land levels out) and first saw the cup-marking at the top-end of this huge rock (amidst a number of others) on the large rise a coupla hundred yards west of Allt na Ceardaich. And as the carved cup was on the top-end of the boulder, I was expecting to find much more of the rock with other motifs scattering its body — but was amazed to find that this was the only single cup-marking on an otherwise huge stone. A mixture of bewilderment and disappointment came over me as I shook my head in disbelief that only a single cup had been scribed into an otherwise massive rock.
Close-up of the cup-marking
However, the light was poor with low cloud and it was nearing sunset, so there may have been other aspects to this carving which we missed out on. One other ‘possible’ cup-mark might have been done, but it seemed very dubious even in the poor light. I was all for having another look at it the following day; but wandering halfway up a mountain just to see if this was the only cup-marking on this outcrop was summat my daughter wasn’t into doing! So the site must await another mad cup-and-ring-crazed traveller on another day to get a more detailed inspection! George – are you out there anytime soon!?
From Killin, travel down Glen Lochay, past Stag Cottage or Duncroisk and over the shallow river of Allt Dhun Croisg. If you’re in a car you can park up a 100 yards past the river bridge and walk up the track from here. After a 10 minute walk, above the trees you come to the derelict village of Tirai* where, until recently, you were greeted by a tall totem-pole of a gnarled tree (it was superb!) which is now Earth-lain, and a fine view of the evolving hills. Here amidst the ruins we also find a standing stone or two.
Archaeology & History
The village of Tirai was deserted sometime in the 19th century (due to the disgusting clearances of the English), but at least two standing stones still live amidst its ruins. The tallest is nearly four-feet tall in the middle of the grassy patch and is much used by grateful cattle to rub themselves against when midges and horseflies drive them mad! The Scottish Royal Commission lads reckon the megaliths here are,
“possibly a survivor of a stone circle as a similar stone is used nearby as a gate-post to an enclosure and several other large stones have been incorporated in the walls of the surrounding buildings.”
This may well be so – but it is equally possible that these are merely the remains of standing stones which once stood along this ridge and which were taken for use in the village.
One of the Tirai standing stones
Of the remaining standing stones in this idyllic setting – the Royal Commission fellas counted possibly four of ’em – all are roughly the same size, between 3 and 4 feet high. Johnstone & Wood (1996) also think the stones here may once have related to a prehistoric cairn in the village.
This is an utterly beautiful arena, even in the heights of winter. The village sits on the rear slopes behind the old cailleach, and there are plenty of cup-and-ring carvings, both known and unknown scattering the rocks and nearby hills. The curious Duncroisk Crosses carving is just visible from here, on the other side of the rocky gorge. Lost tales and lost sites abound here also. I did sit and wonder though… Considering that the villagers here left the old standing stones in place until very recent centuries at the heart of their hamlet, what uses did they make of it, or what tales did it speak? Or had the purge of the Church already taken its toll…?
References:
Gillies, William A., In Famed Breadalbane, Munro Press: Perth 1938.
Johnstone, A.S.K. & Wood, J.S., ‘An Archaeological Field Survey of Deserted Townships at Tirai, Glen Lochay, Killin,’ Association of Certificated Field Archaeologists (Glasgow University) Occasional Paper no 9 (1996).
* The place-name Tirai means ‘land of good luck or joy,’ which truly speaks well of its spirit and setting to me.
