Rock Art
The majority of the carvings are abstract symbols - small cup marks or cup marks surrounded by concentric rings (cup and ring marks), often with lines radiating from them. Some rocks are covered in complex designs, whist others may have only a single carving. We don’t know exactly how old the engravings are, but the majority of them seem to have pecked or ground into rocks about 4000 years ago. They were probably important for a longer period of time, possibly between 5000 and 3500 years ago, throughout much of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.
People have been fascinated by these carvings for over two centuries and there are many imaginative explanations for what the rock art meant - were they maps of the prehistoric landscape? Were they used to hold offerings dedicated to ancient gods? Were they gaming boards for Neolithic shepherds? Many examples of rock art are associated with burial monuments, implying that they were perhaps seen as sacred objects. Others occupy remote hillsides overlooking valleys and high passes, suggesting that they served as territorial markers or signposts along important routes. Maybe they had different meanings at different times of the past. What we do know is that whether they served a ritual or practical function, they were a significant part of the landscape in which prehistoric people lived.
