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Typical cup and ring marks at Weetwood Moor, in the English county of Northumberland (Google Maps). 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 (), Portugal, and Spain – and in Mediterranean Europe – Italy (in Alpine valleys and Sardinia), Azerbaijan and Greece (Thessaly [citation ...
Similar objects can be found on all continents except Antarctica. They are associated with Celtic Europe, prehistoric Australia, Borneo and the Middle East.Some of the earliest cupules can be found at the Bhimbetka cave site in India, dating to 290,000-700,000 BCE, but in Europe they do not pre-date the most recent cold phase (the Würm or Weichselian glaciation).
Hunterheugh Crags are part of the Fellsandstone escarpment, 5 miles (8 km) north west of Alnwick, Northumberland, England and 9 miles (14 km) from the coast. The site is moorland forming part of the Bewick and Beanley Moors SSSI, although before the Bronze Age it is likely to have been thickly forested with broadleaf deciduous trees.
Petroglyphic in nature, the majority of such carvings are abstract in design, usually cup and ring marks, although examples of spirals or figurative depictions of weaponry are also known. Only one form of rock art in Europe, this late prehistoric tradition had connections with others along Atlantic Europe, particularly in Galicia.
Little is definitely known about the purpose or significance of cupules. Many meanings or purposes have been suggested in the literature (one review lists 71). [11] In a number of cases cupules were demonstrated to mark specific rocks used as lithophones; in some cases they served in board games; but other credible ethnographic interpretations of their former cultural functions have been ...
The associated motifs consist of cup-marks ( circular man-made depressions) often surrounded by one or more concentric rings that regularly feature an extending radial groove. Another common motif is the rosette motif which consists of a circular pattern of cup-marks. There is evidence for regional variation amongst this tradition.
The cup and ring marks are composed of two 'panels' with several hundred 'cup and ring' and other glyphs or carvings in a range of styles, ranging from single shallow cups through to deeper cups with multiple rings. Less common, but unique in the Scottish context are ‘square with cup’ carvings; ‘ringed stars’ are also present.
Sketch by W. A. Donnelly (dated 1895) of the Cup & Ring marks on the Cochno Stone. Published by John Bruce in 1896 Detail sketched by James Harvey of Duntocher in 1889. The Cochno Stone is a large cup and ring marked rock at Auchnacraig, Faifley, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, [1] next to the Cochno farm. [2]