100 



DISCOVERY 



Prehistoric 

 " Cup-markings " 



The recent announcement in The Times of May 31 

 that Mr. L. M'Clellan Mann, the well-known archie- 

 ologist, of Glasgow, has discovered a series of " cup- 

 markings " on the surface of a rock at Green Island, 

 Jersey, is of considerable interest in connection with 

 the study of prehistoric man. Cup-markings are of 

 fairly frequent occurrence in this country and on 

 the Continent, and are found in many other parts 

 of the world, including India, Australia, and North 

 America. In form they are shallow depressions cut 

 on rocks or erratic blocks, or on stones which have been 

 adapted and worked by prehistoric man for a purpose 

 such as the construction of a dolmen, or a monolithic 

 monument. They vary in size from one to three 

 inches or more in diameter, and in depth from a half 

 to one and a half inches. The cup-markings found in 

 Jersey are said to be identical with those found in 

 this country, and arc described as beautifully carved 

 and perfectly circular. It has been stated erroneously 

 that cup-markings have not hitherto been found in 

 the Channel Islands ; but two instances have been 

 recorded from Guernsey, one on the prop-stone of a 

 dolmen, the other on a " standing-stone." 



A more complex form of cup-marking also occurs, 

 in which the cup is surrounded by one or more shallow 

 concentric circles. Not infrequently a radial groove 

 runs from the cup or from one of the inner rings to the 

 outer ring or even beyond. Two cups arc sometimes 

 found joined by a similar groove. The distribution 

 of the cup-and-ring is somewhat peculiar : it occurs 

 with some frequency in the northern counties of 

 England, being, in fact, more often found than the 

 simple cup, occasionally in the southern counties, 

 in Scotland, and in Ireland ; it also occurs in Sweden. 

 Outside these areas, except for a few isolated instances, 

 it does not occur elsewhere in Europe. Outside 

 Europe it has been found in India, North America, 

 Central America, and New Caledonia. A second 

 peculiarity of the cup-and-ring is that in Great Britain 

 it is usually associated with other forms of rock carvings, 

 such as the wheel, the spiral, and sometimes the 

 swastika, while in Sweden, in addition, it is often 

 accompanied by representations of ships, both manned 

 and empty. 



Various conjectures have been made as to the object 

 and meaning of these carvings. Their frequent occur- 

 rence on the topmost slab or capstone of a dolmen 

 has suggested a sacrificial purpose, i.e. that they 

 were intended to hold offerings or catch the blood of 



a victim ; but the fai.t thai they have been found 

 on upright or slanting stones and rocks seems to 

 preclude this idea. Their lack of arrangement would 

 go to show that they were not intended to be decorative. 

 It is impossible to say more at present than that they 

 probably have a symbolic meaning, although their 

 association with the wheel and swastika has been 

 responsible for the suggestion that they are connected 

 with sun-worship. 



Both forms of cup-markings may be dated with a 

 reasonable degree of probability. The frequent occur- 

 rence of cup-markings on dolmens and " standing- 

 stones " indicates that they belong to the Late Neolithic 

 or Early Bronze Age. This dating is borne out by the 

 Jersey find. Green Island — which, it may be noted, 

 is an island at high tide only, and has been separated 

 from the mainland in comparatively recent times — is 

 known from previous discoveries to have been the site 

 of a neolithic burial-place. On the other hand, the 

 form of the cup-and-ring suggests a later phase, while 

 the symbols with which it is so frequently associated 

 belong to the Bronze Age. A further indication is its 

 occurrence on slabs used in connection with Bronze Age 

 short cist burials, and on stones situated near such 

 burials or in the neighbourhood of settlements of that 

 date. 



The problems of origin and distribution present manj' 

 points of interest, of which space does not permit the 

 discussion here. In the case of Jersey and Guernsey, 

 it would be natural to look to Brittany as the source. 

 In prehistoric times, and particularly in the Neolithic 

 and Early Bronze Ages, there was close and frequent 

 intercourse between the Channel Islands and Brittany. 

 Sculptures of various forms are of frequent occurrence 

 on the megalithic monuments of the latter area, and 

 among them a number of examples of cup-markings 

 occur. It has been suggested that the cult of a goddess, 

 for which there is evidence in tlie sculptures on the 

 monuments of Brittany and Guernsey, is to be derived 

 from the yEgean. It is, perhaps, significant that cup- 

 markings have been found in the south of France : 

 at Luchon, in the P\Tenecs ; in the Department of 

 Lozcre, and in the Valley of the Rhone. They also 

 occur in Portugal. These instances all carry back the 

 cup-marking along the line of the dolmen-builders in 

 their movement from the Mediterranean around the 

 coast of the Iberian Peninsula and France to Brittany. 

 On the other hand, it must not be forgotten that cup- 

 markings are of frequent occurrence on the erratic 

 blocks of Switzerland. Further, the late Mr. George 

 Coffey, in tracing the spiral, with which the cup- 

 and-ring mark is so frequently associated, to the 

 Mediterranean, held that it reached Ireland from 

 Scandinavia. 



E. N. Fall.mze. 



