1 30 Cup- and Ring-Marked Stones. [Sess. 



more unlikely idea than that the wonderful assortment of 

 cups with many concentric circles on the rock scalps on the 

 slopes of the valley above the Crinan Canal are family records 

 (a circle being added for each birth in a family), or that they 

 were plans of the towns or camps near by. These opinions 

 are mentioned, but not endorsed, by Sir J. Y. Simpson. But 

 he believes that most of these rock-sculpturings were near 

 ancient towns or encampments, and mentions cases in ISTorth- 

 umberland where the ramparts of towns can still be traced 

 around such rock sculptures. He also tells us that close 

 to the " Caiy Stone " there are (or were) the remains of an 

 ancient town. Does the stone record (in a language unknown 

 to us) some of its history ? Or, as monoliths, whether carved 

 or not, were — in many cases at least — closely connected with 

 interments, cists, &c., being often found near them, the " Caiy " 

 may probably be the tombstone of the chiefs of the Comistons ^ 

 '' of that ilk," the row of cups recording the number of inter- 

 ments near it. Then there are some curious sculpturings on 

 the top of the hill above the "Witch's Stone," and visited by 

 you on the same occasion. These, I understand, were dis- 

 covered by the late Mr James Melvin of Bennington since Sir 

 J. Y. Simpson compiled his work. It seems quite probable 

 that there might have been a town in the neighbourhood of 

 these, if indeed they were not inside the town. These 

 sculptures confirm the remarks of Sir James, that, although 

 there is a great similarity — a strong family likeness — among 

 the whole of the cup and ring carvings, no two are quite 

 alike ; and those on Tormain Hill are unlike anything in the 

 whole range of Sir James's illustrations, especially ISTo. 3 with 

 the " Cross " duct, and still more so No. 4 with the wonderful 

 continuous groove, which describes three half-circles round 

 one side of a ring, enclosing a small cup at each turning. 



ISTow let us try to think of the meaning of the almost 

 endless variety of cups, ducts or grooves, rings, spirals or 

 volutes, &c., to be found nearly all over the country, and well 

 illustrated in the fine ^series of plates in Sir J. Y. Simpson's work. 

 It is quite true that Sir James speaks of them as " hieroglyphic 

 cnigmata," and so on ; but there are certain notions towards 

 which he has a very strong leaning, to say the least ; for he 



^ Comiston = Cumming's town (?). 



