1 26 Cup- and Ring-Marked Stones. [Sess. 



the purpose of megalithic circles, seeing that the cups and 

 rings are so often found in them, and his conclusions are 

 very similar. But to proceed : Colonel Sconce, in the latter 

 part of his paper on " Cup-marked Stones," gave a very con- 

 cise summary of some of the leading sections of Sir J. Y. 

 Simpson's work, as the seven leading types of cups and rings, 

 and the chief localities, also seven in number, in which they 

 are found; megalithic circles, ancient underground dwellings, 

 camps or towns, sepulchral chambers, &c. 



As I mentioned, there are several cup-marked stones con- 

 nected with the circles of Strathnairn, and that was what first 

 made me think of writing this paper. Though the leading 

 idea in my mind is the same as before, I have, within the last 

 twelve months, learned much on the subject, enabling me to 

 amplify and illustrate the argument to a considerable extent. 

 In Nos. 2 and 4 of the Strathnairn circles there is a cup- 

 marked stone in the intermediate ring of each (but these I 

 have not seen) ; that in the former being a large slab 5 or 6 

 feet long. In IS^os. 10, 11, and 12, — the chief Clava group, 

 — there is one in each ; in the chamber of ISTo. 10a stone 

 with twelve cups, and in the passage to the chamber of 

 No. 12 one with five cups. These two are now almost 

 covered with dShris, so I have had to borrow from Sir J. Y. 

 Simpson for full figures of them, and they are the only 

 Strathnairn stones illustrated or mentioned by Sir James. 

 A triangular block in the intermediate ring of No. 11, with 

 one deep and some shallow cups, and a stone in the burial 

 ring near No. 11, having some shallow cups, make six 

 " cupped " stones in situ among the Strathnairn circles. Then 

 there is a finely-marked stone preserved in the wall of the 

 farmer's garden close beside the chief Clava group. It was 

 previously built into the side of the wide fireplace of the old 

 farmhouse, but to which circle it originally belonged is probably 

 not known. Its present size is 22 inches by 17 inches, but 

 as some of the cups — twelve in number — are cut through, it 

 had evidently been trimmed and reduced in size before being 

 used as building material in the old farmhouse. The two 

 stones which a neighbouring farmer recovered from a stone 

 dyke at Clava, and took with him on leaving, I have not 

 had an opportunity of seeing again ; but a figure given by Sir 



