124 Archaic Sculpturings. 



occur. In Arg-yleshire and elsewhere, but very rarely, 

 ladder-like devices have been discovered, and in Ireland there 

 are many designs like stars or suns with radial lines 

 emanating- from the centre. They are found on surfaces at 

 all angles, from horizontal to \ertical positions. They occur 

 over a large territory, including a large portion of Europe 

 and Asia, but the sculpturings of each area seem to have 

 slightly distinctive characteristics, though preserving a 

 strong family resemblance. 



The chronological position seems pretty vi'ell defined as 

 cases have occurred where the carvings seem to be associated 

 in Britain with early Bronze Age remains, such as cist-covers 

 and standing stones. That they go back at least to the late 

 Neolithic period is also almost certain. There is some evi- 

 dence that they may ha\e survived in Scotland as late as 

 the beginning of the Early Iron Age, say, 300 B.C. 



The pre-historian meets with no more frequent enquiry 

 than — " What is the meaning of these carvings?" I shall 

 attempt to lay before you a solution of the problem. I shall 

 pick out from a mass of evidence which I have been accumu- 

 lating for some years the proofs which have been yielded up 

 by examination of the carvings from your own counties. 

 So far as I know, none have been found in Dumfriesshire, 

 but many groups occur in the southern district .of the 

 Stewartry and in the south-eastern part of Wigtownshire, in 

 which tract of country there are some thirteen sets. They 

 all lie south of a line running from the Kirk of Mochrum to 

 Kirkinner village, continuing north-east and passing about 

 one mile to the south of Creetown up to Glenquicken Moor 

 in Kirkmabreck parish. The rest of the area in which the 

 sculpturings have so far been found is composed of the shore 

 parishes in the Stewartry, namely — Anwoth, Borgue, Kirk- 

 cudbright, and Rerrick. The sculpturings thus lie in dis- 

 tricts easily accessible, and never far distant from the shore, 

 but this rule does not apply to other parts of Scotland, 

 England, and Ireland, where inland sites are common. 



Some sixty groups have been noted in the Stewartry, 

 many of them drawn most carefully by Mr Fred. R. Coles 

 and Mr E. A. Hornel, and published by the Society of 



