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. They have been designated a scheduled monument.
Discovery
These carvings or petroglyphs were first recorded in 1986 (although a '1751' carved date suggests an earlier discovery) when the Kingencleugh Estate decided to clear an area of vegetation along the north side of the Liddell Burn that is a minor tributary stream of the River Ayr in an area famous for its quarrying of red sandstone. The removal of vegetation exposed the carvings that are distributed across two faces of a vertical outcrop of rock and they were reported to the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock. The presence of possible medieval carvings, the extensive quarrying with numerous workmen employed in the area, especially during the construction of the Ballochmyle Viaduct, emphasises how surprising it is that these glyphs were overlooked for so long, especially as they are only about 2 km south-east of Mauchline's town centre.
Description
The rock here is described as being a "pink dessert sandstone from the Permian age showing clear signs of dune bedding". 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. Three deer-like carvings and some other inscriptions with Lombardic style letters were also carved into the rockface and these are thought to be medieval in date.
Several feet of soil were removed from the bottom of the corner that divides the two main halves of the site and this uncovered three 'trilithon-like' carvings and others may await discovery where the soil has not been removed. The carvings were protected by the vegetation and began to deteriorate after this was removed and in addition vandalism and theft of a panel has taken place. It is likely that they were historically hidden from direct view by trees and shrubs.
The Ballochmyle glyphs or motifs are carved on red sandstone, however they are found elsewhere on other sedimentary rocks such as Millstone Grits, as well as the harder igneous and metamorphic rocks such as granites and schists.
The basic 'cup' is the most common carving however a wide range of glyphs exist with single to multiple concentric circles that are sometimes cut through in various ways by channels, etc. Where concentric rings exist the central cup often appears to dominate in depth and size suggesting that they were subject to repeated reworking over a period of time. Some incomplete or poorly formed glyphs exist here suggesting that different persons were involved in making them and frequent overlays of existing glyphs with either 'cups' or 'cup rings' suggests that they were created over an extended period of time.
Studies suggest that distinct stylistic groupings may be present with one panel area having simple cups and cups with grooves, whilst another area has predominately bold cups with multiple concentric rings. An area with an apparent Lombardic style lettering may read 'ASAID' with two or three unreadable leading letters and a likely lost section. The final element is a date '1751' that is considered authentic but did not lead to further recorded investigation.
Evidence suggests that cup and ring art was created from the Neolithic through to the Bronze Age, that is approximately 4000 BC to 1500 BC.
Creation and meaning
Cup and ring mark stones are frequently found throughout Britain, with over 2500 sites in England alone, however an unusual feature of those at Ballochmyle is that they have been carved on nearly or actual vertical surfaces rather than horizontal and often 'altar-like' exposed stone outcrops. These types of carvings were created using 'hammerstones' or 'peckers', examples of these have been found elsewhere, hitting the surface of the rock repeatedly or using a grinding motion until the desired design was formed Some of the long grooves appear to be a series of cups that were then joined together. The soft nature of the stone at Ballochmyle gives insights into how the glyphs were created with many small holes that could not have been formed by a hammering action.