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

* 1.2.1.2 PETROGLYPHS AND INTERVISIBILITY *
� INTRODUCTION �
Before discussing lines of intervisibility, it is necessary to view the
Kilmartin valley in a wider perspective. Based on the distribution
patterns of complex cup-and-ring art in the British Isles in general and
especially on the distribution of cupules with five or more rings, two
major routes (Fig. 124) through the archipelago may be distinguished
(Van Hoek 1997a, 1997b). What is possibly the ‘older’ route ran via the
west coast of Ireland, using Kerry, the Boheh stone in Mayo, and
Donegal as stepping stones, and then focussed on the west coast of
Argyll, especially on the Kilmartin valley. The route continued via Loch
Awe to Tayside and beyond.
In the study area, however, two distinctly separated routes developed
as well, both however, leading to Loch Awe. The west route is
considered by me as the earlier one (Van Hoek 1997a) and this seems to
be confirmed by distribution patterns of cupules with five rings or
more, which in my opinion date to the later part of the Neolithic. Of
the 28 examples found in Argyll, 23 are found on the east route (Fig.15).
The presence of complex art mainly on this later route through
Argyll may indicate influence from people who created the second
major route via Galloway to Northumberland. They possibly also used
the already established key area of the Kilmartin valley to connect
with the earlier route to Loch Awe.
Both the west and the east routes through the study area prove to
include scattered instances of intervisibility. However, in general, the
term intervisibility must be treated with some ambiguity. There
notably may exist an unconscious or accidental level and a deliberate
level in the selection of intervisible petroglyph sites, that are
sometimes simultaneously present in one area. In my opinion simple
glyphs initially were randomly distributed (on macro level) across the
newly occupied land. If intervisibility was involved it originated more
likely by chance than on purpose and if on purpose it occurred mainly on
micro level, that is, extending over a few hundreds of metres at the
most, not over kilometres.
In some instances, however, a deliberate patterning of sites evolved on
macro level, either by selecting and emphasising existing sites and by
creating new sites. This distribution particularly developed on major
through routes, either spiritual or secular. At a later stage complex
petroglyphs were executed almost exclusively on these routes (a
complex site features cupules with three rings or more). But generally
intervisibility of carved rocks on micro level does not seem to have
been the major goal. It was more important to establish intervisibility
between general locations. This is confirmed in other areas, for
example at many sites in northern England for which Bradley rightly
states “the visual links were between the hills rather than the carved
M. van HOEK: 19
GEOGRAPHY