132 Cup- and Ring- Marked Stones. [Sess. 



that the so-called " spectacle ornament " consists of two sets 

 of nearly concentric circles joined by segments ; and the same 

 ornament appears in relief on the Eosemarkie and other 

 stones as the " double-disc symbol," composed of two rings 

 joined by segments, each ring enclosing a symmetrical ar- 

 rangement of bosses, — one surrounded by six. Sir James has 

 noticed a similar arrangement of ciifs in a few cases ; and on 

 the cover of the kist-vaen found at Craigie-hill, in Linlithgow- 

 shire, there are four sets of concentric circles surrounding 

 another, though much smaller, set. It seems evident for one 

 thing that the Dingwall and other stones with incised symbols 

 were the earliest of their kind, and that those carved in relief 

 are of a much later date, when the sculptors had become more 

 proficient in their art. The Eosemarkie Stone was found 

 under the floor of the church when it was being rebuilt, and 

 had been used to cover a grave, and thus resembles the archaic 

 cup-and-ring-marked covers of cists and urns. The Dingwall 

 Stone was found in 1880 by Eev. Dr Joass, used as a lintel 

 over a doorway in the present church, which was built in 

 1801, and it is now erected just inside the gate of the 

 churchyard. I have been told that, like the Eosemarkie 

 Stone, it was found under the floor of the old church, covering 

 a grave. Sir James mentions that on some of the carved 

 stones in Ireland cups occur of a much older date than the 

 other sculpturings, some of the lines of these crossing the 

 cups and running down through the hollows and up again. 

 Similarly, on the Dingwall Stone there are several cups and 

 three rings which seem to be much older than the other carv- 

 ings. The later sculptors had sometimes selected stones which 

 came ready to hand, disregarding the few markings which had 

 previously been made on them. 



Eegarding the unity and continuity of the ideas and pur- 

 poses underlying all these sculptures, Sir James says : " It 

 appears to me not improbable that the race of megalithic 

 builders, whether Celtic or pre-Celtic, who had tools of flint 

 or polished stone, first sculptured our rocks and stones with 

 the rude ring and cup cuttings. But the adoption, and even 

 more extended use, of these forms of ornamental, and possibly 

 religious, symbols passed down in all likelihood (with their 

 sepulchral practices and with other pieces of art and super- 



