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

* 1.2.1.2.4 THE EAST ROUTE
The east route runs from the Firth of Clyde via Loch Fyne and passes
the Isle of Bute and the Cowal peninsula. Remarkably, the Isle of Bute
has a large number of only simple rock art sites, often running uphill in
linear groups, but mainly at its west coast (Fig. 188) and concentrated
north of Ettrick Bay, significantly overlooking the entrance of the
Kyles of Bute. Only one group exists on Bute’s east coast and is
significantly positioned opposite a similar group on the west coast of
Cowal at a point still serviced by modern ferries. The majority of sites
on Bute is moreover found at the entrance of the narrow Kyles of Bute
and again rock art sites are strikingly found opposite each other (Fig.
188). The whole Bute-Cowal group also marks the entrance to Loch
Fyne, together with another group at Skipness in Kintyre, on the coast
opposite Cowal (Fig. 188).
Equally accessible bays on the east coast of Bute have clearly been
ignored, although the route to the important rock art sites near
Glasgow (for instance Greenland and Whitehills) passed really close
to those eastern bays. Similarly, it is remarkable that there is no
rock art near the most accessible and sheltered bay of Sannox on
the north coast of the isle of Arran This may indicate that
migration was mainly directed towards northern and eastern areas.
From a small bay on Loch Fyne, called Loch Gilp (Fig. 188), a string of
petroglyphic sites runs inland over a distance of about 10 km from the
first site at Blairbuie (1 in Fig. 4) to the important archaeological
complex at Torbhlaran (7). Again, the distribution patterns of fixed
rock art sites on the east route seem to mark the way to Loch Awe by
way of lines of intervisibility, rather than focussing on the megalithic
complexes in the Kilmartin valley.
It is most likely that one travelled up the former sea-loch (indicated
as a swamp in Fig. 14) and landed near Cairnbaan (4 in Fig. 4). Then
the petroglyphic sites on the hill slopes east of the sea-loch
overlooked the route rather than indicating the route itself. An
important cairn, incorporating decorated stones, may still overlook the
ancient landing site at Cairnbaan. It is possible that the standing
stones east of the sea-loch indicate the later route overland, after the
loch turned into an inaccessible swamp.
* 1.2.1.2.4.1 In my opinion, the sites at Achnabreck and
Blairbuie were selected by people who deliberately deviated from the
main route in order to create ritual places overlooking the route and
landing place. Bradley (1997) suggests that such petroglyphs and their
setting were possibly intended to convey specific messages to an
audience of strangers (see however Galicia), but equally these sites
also addressed travellers and the people who lived in the
neighbourhood.
M. van HOEK: 24
GEOGRAPHY