Shantron
Carved Stone (Prehistoric)
Site Name Shantron
Classification Carved Stone (Prehistoric)
Canmore ID 42469
Site Number NS38NW 2
NGR NS 34930 88157
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/42469
- Council Argyll And Bute
- Parish Luss
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Dumbarton
- Former County Dunbartonshire
NS38NW 2 3493 8817.
(NS 3493 8817) There is a sculptured rock, situated approximately on the 150' contour inside a wood some 30 yards from the NW corner of the dyke bounding the plantation on the west and north, 1/4 mile south of Shegarten farm, and 3 furlongs NW of Rossdhu Mid Lodge.
The rock, which is of schist, measures 7ft square and rises to a maximum height of 18 ins. Upon it can be seen a cup and ring; one large, shallow and wide ring; a narrower ring; and a narrowly incised sculpturing resembling the outline of a horseshoe. The rock has been mutilated by weathering, and possibly by a later 'sculptor'. Compared with other groups of Scottish rock-markings asssignable to prehistoric times, the Luss assemblage is remarkable by the paucity of cup-like hollows, which elsewhere usually predominate.
A D Lacaille 1935
This natural rock is mainly as described above; but owing to it being covered in moss only 3 deeply-incised rings were seen - one having a small 'cup' within it.
Visited by OS (JLD) 3 October 1956
NS 3493 8817 This boulder is as described above.
Surveyed at 1:2500.
Visited by OS (WDJ) 18 January 1963
A smooth, round boulder with deep marks - a cup-and-one-ring (duct downhill from ring), 2 separate complete rings and one separate incomplete ring (no cups).
R W B Morris and D C bailey 1967
Note (1978)
Shantron NS 349 881 NS38NW 2
A cup-and-ring marked boulder.
RCAHMS 1978
(Lacaille 1935, 416-8; Morris 1966, 161, no. 43)
Note (23 February 2019)
Date Fieldwork Started: 23/02/2019
Compiled by: ACFA North Glasgow
Location Notes: This panel (Canmore ID 42469) is located off the A82 trunk road west of Loch Lomond, about 500m up the Glen Fruin road (A818). On the N side of the road, it is immediately across a wire fence near the western end of a braking zone. The panel is situated on land that is gently sloping, generally in a NE - SW direction, with a prominent but small hillock, approximately 30m to the NE. The Finlas Water flows to the W, some 100 m S of the panel.The area is tree and shrub-covered with low vegetation. There are no other boulders or outcrops in the vicinity. The landscape and the vegetation restrict the views from the panel.
No additional archaeological features were identified, but more modern man-made features include the Glen Fruin Road, a significant road associated with transport of MoD personnel and materiel westward. The road is within 8m S of the panel. There is also a modern fence about 15m due W, and another between the modern road and the panel itself. Within 1m of the panel a prominent local authority road sign identifies the panel as being a Cup and Ring Marked Stone.
Panel Notes: The rock itself is 2.7 x 2.2m in size, with a maximum height of about 0.65m before dropping below ground level on all sides. It is broadly sub-circular at its base, and domed in shape, with all sides rising to its highest point, a little to the N of centre. This gives the rock an apparent N - S orientation. We have adopted the earlier description of the material as schist, though it exhibits such a large proportion of other material to look like a conglomerate. With no other evidence of either outcrops or boulders, and the rock disappearing below ground level, we were hesitant about which it was, before settling on the description as a boulder.
There are four carvings on different faces of the rock; the clearest and most complete was on the E sloping side of the rock, and the next most complete was on the S side. The other 2 carvings (one close to the peak of the rock and the other on the W flank) were barely started. Therefore, only the most obviously advanced carving are described here. This comprises a thin but deeply (2.5cm) incised circle of about 10cm in diameter, very precise and accurate, with no visible tool-markings but possibly made with a sharp tool. At its centre is a tiny 'cup', which is shallower than the incised circle. Though the most developed carving, it nonetheless appears unfinished, as though it had yet to be fully cut out and retrieved from the rock. There was, however, one possible cupmark found off the N side of the rock, as it dipped down to ground level. Even this did not exhibit the traditional shape of a cup marked feature, and no peck marks were identified here either.
Field Visit (September 2022)
NS 34931 88153 This site is marked as a cup and ring marked rock on OS maps and has signage from the roadside and adjacent to it labelling it as a cup and ring marked stone. It is identified as a carved stone on Canmore, possibly having been re-classified following a visit by a team from Scotland’s Rock Art Project in 2019 (ScRAP Ref.1322).
Having viewed the team’s ScRAP 3D model a visit to the site was made in September 2022, which confirmed that the carvings on the boulder are quern roughouts. The four roughouts are of a similar size (0.23–0.28m) and in various stages of manufacture. The roughout on the E side of the rock appears almost complete and bears a small, roughly hewn central depression.
The roughouts bear a striking similarity to those at Broughmore Wood quern quarry near Stirling (DES Volume 21,129–131). It might also be relevant that the boulder is near a dun site.
Sketchfab 3D model reference: https://skfb.ly/oxVZT
Field visit Nick Parish
(Source: DES Volume 23)
