Maarten van Hoek The Geography of Cup-and-Ring ... - StoneWatch

undertaken (Figs 84 and 85). The track to Sprons leads over a distance
photo
FIG. 85: LOCATION OF SPRONS (SECTION A-B-C: SEE FIG. 84).
of 7 km through rough terrain, wooded at first, and higher up across
vast areas of scree material. Because a complete return trip will have
taken more than eight hours in prehistoric times, it is possible that
one stayed overnight on this saddle, which even in the summer is often
wind-swept and rather cold. Added to this strenuous job came the
apparent urge to spend many hours at the spot to perform rituals in
the form of executing symbols in stone. All this could, moreover, only
be performed in summertime, as the site is often covered in up to many
metres of snow, even as late as the end of May. This resembles
situations at Monte Bego (24 on Fig. 58) and Savoie (21) in France
where petroglyphic rocks occur at about 2400 m and are covered for
almost nine months with snow and ice. At Monte Bego there are,
however, no real cupmarked rocks, just a small number of concentric
rings with shallow central dots.
As Sprons is in a rather sheltered position, it could take a few more
weeks before all the snow had disappeared and by the end of May one
could think of going up the mountain. Although transhumance modestly
occurs in the area nowadays, there are no real lush mountain meadows
on these steep slopes; there is too much scree and slopes are very
steep. Apart for the secluded location and the fine view, the only
importance may have been the fresh water provided by nine small lakes
nearby. On of these lakes is situated only a few metres to the west and
M. van HOEK: 108
GEOGRAPHY