Scotland's Rock Art Project (ScRAP)
Date 5 September 2020
Event ID 1128690
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Note
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1128690
Date Fieldwork Started: 05/09/2020
Compiled by: Killin
Location Notes: The panel is situated at 430m asl in unenclosed rough grazing on the S side of Ben Lawers above Loch Tay, 20m NE of a tributary burn of Allt a' Choire Chireinich. It is perched on the edge of the steep burn gully which slopes to the SW, although the general slopes of the ground it to the S. There is a large boulder 4m S of the panel. The panel lies 70m N of the head dyke (and the track on its S side), and 15m S of a shieling track running NE up from the head dyke. Loch Tay is visible between E and S, and again at the SW. To the W the summit of Beinn Ghlas is visible over the S slope of Ben Lawers, the summit of which in turn is visible to the NW. To the E is the S side of Meall Odhar, and hills on the S side of the loch. There is a broad distribution of rock art in the surrounding landscape, although the only recorded example within 200m is a cup marked stone 95m to the SW (Allt a' Choire Chireinich 2, ScRAP 1603, Canmore 291477). Other recorded features include enclosures and sheiling huts 40m SSE (Canmore 256019), peat stands 140m to the SE (Canmore 291489), and a sheepfold on the head dyke, 170m to the SW, at the top of march dyke between Craggantoul farm and Cragganester farms (Canmore 291513).
Panel Notes: This is a flat-topped and smoothed Schist boulder, 2.7m (NW-SE) by 1.6m, and up to 1.2m high on its overhanging S side. Its upper surface, which is slightly domed with rounded edges, slopes generally between 0 and 10 degrees (average 5 degrees) to the SSE. To the N, where it is set back into the slope, it is no more than 0.2m high. It has a hard, coarse texture and a rough surface. The carvings include at least 52 cupmarks, of which 36 have no discernible rings, and a number of others where complete or partial rings were only revealed in the 3D modelling. They are seemingly randomly distributed across the panel's upper surface. Six cup and ring marks have single rings, 6 have 2 rings each, 1 has 3 rings and the largest, in the central eastern part of the panel, has 5 rings. The latter has a radial teardrop-shaped mark E of its central cupmark (but not connected to it) with a further radial groove to its E. A two-ring cup and ring mark to its N also has a radial line (slightly sinuous) running E from its cupmark. This differs significantly from the previous record of 16 plain cupmarks and 34 cup and ring marks, and suggests that many of the rings have been lost in recent years.
