Ardoch

Ardoch NH 611 724 NH67SW 23

This prostrate slab bears at least twenty-five cup-marks and two grooves.

RCAHMS 1979, visited September 1978

Date Fieldwork Started: 22/09/2018

Compiled by: NOSAS

Location Notes: The panel is located towards the top of a gently sloping ridge, facing E and with long-distance views to the E and SE, notably directly out to sea between the N and S Sutors of the Cromarty Firth. There are several other larger and more prominent erratic boulders nearby, these are mostly of a coarse or very coarse grained granitic rock. The panel is unusual in its local context as it lies flat at ground level and is a fine sandstone. It lies in the grass, not easily seen, about 7m S of an E-W modern fence, and about 17m SE of a very prominent boulder adjacent to the fence line.

Panel Notes: The panel is rectangular, about 1.1m by 0.9m, and lies flat in the ground. It is a fine sandstone with 32 cups of varying sizes - 27 small, 5 larger including one very large one at the SW corner. The panel is divided by a series of 5 or 6 distinct grooves which curve across the surface. Some of the cups are alongside the grooves, forming curved rows.

The panel is in an open grassy field. Since the last visit conducted in 2018 by NOSAS, it has been damaged, possibly by agricultural machinery, which has broken away part of the panel. The damage extends to about 15% of the decorated surface, on its southern edge.

No broken pieces were found. The panel is at risk of further damage.

Information from North of Scotland Archaeology Society (NOSAS) November 2021.