spencer
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Solitary cup marks
Dec 24, 2016, 16:27
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Are there any confirmed in England? How can you ID them as genuine, not natural? I have found about ten on the gritstone around Sheffield this year, and am very reluctant to claim them as being TMA worthy, but the thought nags..all about six inches across. I have also found one instance of two side by side..I photograph and move on. I have looked for cupmarks on one hell of a lot of stones, and gritstone doesn't appear to be any way near prone to pockmarking as limestone. I cannot help but wonder if bullaun stones are a purely Scottish (Irish too? Pass). When you find one on the highest point of a hill you can be, I hope, forgiven for wondering. Thoughts and info welcomed.
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tiompan
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Re: Solitary cup marks
Dec 24, 2016, 17:29
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Lots of single cup marks have been recorded in England by experienced competent researchers . Recognition is mainly due to experience i.e. recognising genuine examples and being aware of the natural markings associated with the particular geology the markings are on . Grit , like most the surfaces most often chosen for engraving certainly has plenty of the latter . In the case of single cup marks it is not always possible to be absolutely sure , particularly if there are no other markings in the area , and they most probably would be considered “possible “ .
Judging a single cup mark from an image is not ideal but it wouldn’t do any harm to post some pics .
You do find cups/markings on limestone but they are uncommon .
The vast majority of marked rocks are not found at the top of hills , if anything , it would be the least likely point to find them , although they might be found on the slightly higher point in the local topography i.e. top of a knowe / knoll etc .
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spencer
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Re: Solitary cup marks
Dec 24, 2016, 18:49
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Cheers for that..am wary of cluttering TMA up with sites of dubious antiquity through inexperience, and am already guilty. I've found a few strange marks on my wanderings..but last weekend I found one that for all the world looked like a footprint on a big slab of recumbent, no other mark, and on another a rectangle which looked incised. Nature, I know, can play the strangest tricks. I have also found a rock with two incised rings on it, both about a foot across, definitely of human origin, but no cupmarks with them.
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tiompan
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Re: Solitary cup marks
Dec 24, 2016, 19:13
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Linking the pics to the nearest site as part of a query is not uncommon here .
RA footprints are very rare in the UK particularly in the open air .
You do get rings without cups , sometimes with a boss instead of a cup ,but again pretty rare .
You also get rectangles or half a rectangle i.e. an L shape, but again rare .
There is always the possibility that they could be relatively recent and engraved using metal .
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spencer
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Edited Dec 24, 2016, 20:28
Re: Solitary cup marks
Dec 24, 2016, 20:23
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Am mindful of the recent engraving using metal aspect. The nearest sites in this instance are between one and two miles away, but thanks, will mull over linking, I hadn't thought of that. My 'thing' seems to be a greater inclination to spend my time out looking for new stuff rather than visiting the 'knowns', and am quite prepared to hold my hand up about lack of experience in identifying what turns up - and there's a LOT out there.. I know of an undisturbed complete Bronze Age settlement but twenty minutes or so drive from my house that's been found this year, which is being kept hush hush, I presume because of unscrupulous d*********ts, and I've found a probable one way out in the wilds which I'll hopefully be getting inspected early in the new year when bracken, stream and river levels etc permit. I found another early this year hidden in the bracken, almost a quarter of a mile long, but inspection determined post TMA timeframe, so I deleted it. Still, at least its now known about, which is what matters most.
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