What is a cup and ring marked stone?
A cup-mark is a roughly circular depression pecked and then ground into a stone. These may be seen singly, in lines, or as the basis for further patterns, called cup-and-rings, so as to cover a whole or portion of rock.
How old are cup and ring marks?
The Ballochmyle cup and ring marks were first recorded at Ballochmyle (NS 5107 2552), Mauchline, East Ayrshire, Scotland in 1986, very unusually carved on a vertical red sandstone cliff face, forming one of the most extensive areas of such carvings as yet found in Britain.
What is the oldest petroglyph?
The oldest pictographs in Iran are seen in Yafteh cave in Lorestan that date back 40,000 and the oldest petroglyph discovered belongs to Timareh dating back to 40,800 years ago.
What do cup and ring marks mean?
Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found in the Atlantic seaboard of Europe (Ireland, Wales, Northern England, Scotland, France (Brittany), Portugal, and Spain (Galicia) – and in Mediterranean Europe – Italy (in Alpine valleys and Sardinia) and Greece (Thessaly and Irakleia (Cyclades)), as …
What were cup stones used for?
There is no agreement upon their purpose or purposes, which may have included the processing of food, medicine or pigments, storage, arrow-production or fire-drilling. As such, they could represent a primitive form of mortar and pestle.
What age petroglyphs picture carved on rocks?
Consisting of geometric designs, ideomorphs as well as representations of Animals, they date from the Neolithic period, about 8,200 BCE.
Why did Winnemucca Lake dry up?
Winnemucca Lake is a dry lake bed in northwest Nevada that features the oldest known petroglyphs in North America. Located astride the border between Washoe and Pershing counties, it was a shallow lake until the 1930s, but was dried when a dam and a road were built that combined to restrict and block water flow.
Where is world’s largest petroglyphs?
The World’s Largest Rock Art Petroglyph – Dabous Giraffe Carvings in Niger Africa. The two life-size giraffe petroglyphs, known as the Dabous giraffe, are the largest known animal carvings in the world.
Where is the Cochno stone?
West Dunbartonshire
The Cochno Stone is a large cup and ring marked rock at Auchnacraig, Faifley, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, next to the Cochno farm. It is also known variously as “Whitehill 1” and “the Druid Stone”.
How can you tell a Nutting Stone?
Nutting stones are a fairly common artifact found throughout most of Georgia. These are unusually shaped stones with one or more shallow cupped spots on one or more surfaces (top). It is assumed that these impressions of multiple sizes were for the cracking of hard shelled nuts like walnuts or hickory nuts.
What are Cup and ring stone carvings?
Ancient ‘Cup and Ring’ Stone Carvings: Who Made Them, and Why? – The Daily Grail Variations of the prehistoric carvings commonly called “cup and ring marks” have been discovered on every continent of the world save Antartica, and yet their meaning remains a mystery.
Where can I find a cup and ring in the Alps?
Regarding western alps ( Piedmont ), the best known are distributed along the Chisone, Susa and Viù valleys; also the La Bessa site is to be cited. Strictly referring to cup-and-rings, it is possible to cite in the western Alps only the Novalesa stone, in the Cenischia Valley, near the Italian-French border.
Where can I find Cup-marked stones?
Numerous cup-marked stones have been found in quite all the alpine valleys, comprising Val Camonica ( Italy ), associated with rock drawings. Regarding western alps ( Piedmont ), the best known are distributed along the Chisone, Susa and Viù valleys; also the La Bessa site is to be cited.
What are “Cup and ring marks”?
Variations of the prehistoric carvings commonly called “cup and ring marks” have been discovered on every continent of the world save Antartica, and yet their meaning remains a mystery.