Townhead 20
Cup And Ring Marked Rock (Neolithic) - (Bronze Age)
Site Name Townhead 20
Classification Cup And Ring Marked Rock (Neolithic) - (Bronze Age)
Canmore ID 368681
Site Number NX64NE 133
NGR NX 69978 47140
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/368681
- Council Dumfries And Galloway
- Parish Kirkcudbright
- Former Region Dumfries And Galloway
- Former District Stewartry
- Former County Kirkcudbrightshire
Note (21 June 2018)
Date Fieldwork Started: 21/06/2018
Compiled by: ScRAP
Location Notes: The panel is situated near the eastern end of a field of improved pasture, close to the bottom of the gradual SE slope of the field, on the S side of a small rocky knoll, about 20m W of a burn that runs along the field edge. There are at least 20 other carved panels in the same field (Townhead 1-26), and several carved surfaces cluster on the same rocky knoll as Townhead 20. Townhead 19 and 20 are the closest, with Townhead 19 lying only about 2m to the ESE under turf, and Townhead 20 lying 4-5m to the S. The cluster of carved rocks at Milton lies only a few hundred metres to the SE.
There are two records for Townhead 20 in Canmore. It was originally recorded by Morris/van Hoek as Townhead 4C (Canmore 77613, ScRAP 1724) and as Townhead 1h by Naddir et al (Canmore 77804, ScRAP 1182). It is also grouped with Townhead 19, 20 and 21 (previously Townhead 4A, B and D, and Townhead 1a-g and 1e) in both the existing records. In order to simplify this confusion, a new Canmore record has been created for Townhead 20. Townhead 19 is recorded under Canmore 77804, and Townhead 18 is recorded under Canmore 77613.
Panel Notes: This is a large area of greywacke bedrock measuring about 2.0x1.1m and flush with the ground. The surface is smooth, slopes very gently to the NW, and has several fissures and natural hollows, including a large, deep tear-drop shaped hollow on its W side. Towards the NE end of the panel is a rosette motif comprising a large ring enclosing 2 incomplete rings of small cups arranged around the inner circumference of the ring. A possible radial leads from the ring to a faint ring motif. A second radial leads from the rosette to a circular area of pecking. To one side of this is a wavy groove partly enclosing a curved alignment of cups. At the opposite end of the panel is a circle of well-defined cups, a dumbbell, an incomplete ring with small cups at each terminus, and cup with a long, wavy groove leading to the large natural hollow. There are also at least 7 cups, 2 or 3 shorter grooves and numerous micro-cups or random peck marks