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

standing stone in Fig. 6) and for that reason they may have been
untouched. From the complex site at Kilmichael Glassary, bearing cups
with up to five rings, only the next site, Torbhlaran, is visible some
1100 m to the NE. This confirms the conclusion found at Cairnbaan: if
intervisibility exists, it more often involves simple sites. Also, when
travelling towards the Kilmartin valley from Torbhlaran, the
petroglyphs become simpler and none overlooks the Kilmartin valley.
Moreover, there is no question of increasing complexity when travelling
from Cairnbaan (or even from Blairbuie) via Dunamuck and Dunadd
towards the megaliths at Ballymeanoch (Fig. 4; M).
* 1.2.1.2.5 IGNORING KNOLLS
At Dunamuck it proves again (compare Achnabreck) that prominent
outcrop knolls were not necessarily preferred for engraving. Just 80 m
north of site 2 is a 55 m high outcrop knoll without any carving,
offering suitable rock surfaces and excellent views. Contrary to what
Bradley suggests, there is no view of the Kilmartin valley from any of
the cup-and-ring sites on this route, although it would not at all have
been a difficulty to find such a spot, especially on the northern edge
of the hill which is, however, completely bereft of rock art. Instead,
the view from Dunamuck 2 again focuses (also because of those two
knolls) solely on Kilmichael Glassary which is clearly visible in the
valley of the river Add between two darker hills that stand out against
the horizon. Nearby standing stones, which seem to indicate the (later
!) route to the megalithic monuments of the Kilmartin valley, are not
visible from Dunamuck 2.
* 1.2.1.2.5.1 The tendency not to mark the most conspicuous
outcrop knolls, as we have seen at Achnabreck and Dunamuck (but see
also Bradley 1997: 133), is repeated at Dunadd, although Bradley
suggests that the significance of Dunadd “was so well established that
there was little need to emphasise its importance by adding carved
designs” (1997: 133). This idea, however, is contradicted by Iron Age
petroglyphs on top of Dunadd, which clearly function to emphasise the
importance of the place when it became the capital of Dalriada. In my
opinion, Dunadd was of little (or no) significance in early Neolithic
times, because it was not located on the (east) route to Loch Awe and
because it was hard to reach in the isolation of the swamps. In late
Neolithic times, when it became part of the route from Cairnbaan to
Ballymeanoch, indicated by rows of standing stones from Achnabreck up
to Dunadd, it may have served as an important crossing place.
Indeed, the sole engraving of a faint cup-and-one-ring at Dunadd is
found on the east slope of the hillock (Morris 1977: 75), overlooking
the spot where traces of an ancient causeway through the marshes
have been found (Campbell 1984: 15). At this spot there is also a ford
in the river Add (causeway and ford indicated with FORD in Fig. 4).
M. van HOEK: 29
GEOGRAPHY