Excavations at Torbhlaren:

Long Distance Connections Within Britain and Ireland: the Evidence of Insular Rock Art

“…Two decorated outcrops on the Ben Lawers estate in the southern Highlands of Scotland produced finds of Arran pitchstone which should date from the Early or Middle Neolithic period (Bradley et al 2013). The same happened at Torbhlaren near Kilmartin on the west coast where concentrations of rock art are also associated with radiocarbon dates in the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods: 2920–2860 cal bc and 2580–2340 bc (Jones et al 2011, 57–8). Similarly, there was a deposit containing Grooved Ware and flint artefacts beside panels of rock art on Rombalds Moor in the southern Pennines.…”

“…The same applies to a few panels associated with passage tombs in Orkney (Thomas 2020). Scottish and Irish monuments share some elements with places in the wider landscape, but they are rare (Freedman in Jones et al 2011, 284–311). They include: simple or more elaborate spirals; C-shaped or ‘horned’ spirals; rosettes; unbroken concentric circles; stars; ‘boxed U motifs’; and ‘serpentiforms’ (Robin 2009; Eogan & Shee Twohig 2022).…”

“…They include: simple or more elaborate spirals; C-shaped or ‘horned’ spirals; rosettes; unbroken concentric circles; stars; ‘boxed U motifs’; and ‘serpentiforms’ (Robin 2009; Eogan & Shee Twohig 2022). The best known examples are in Inishowen in the north of Ireland (O’Connor 2006,118–19), at Ballochmyle (Stevenson 1993) and Ormaig near the west coast of Scotland (Jones et al 2011, 204–10), Morwick in Northumberland (Beckensall 1991, 111–16), and Copt Howe in Cumbria (Bradley et al 2019). They stand out from most of the other panels in the same regions.…”

Revealing the Earliest Animal Engravings in Scotland: The Dunchraigaig Deer, Kilmartin

“…However, the context of the carvings is significant. Furthermore, Neolithic rock art typically responds to material, light and location (Cochrane et al 2014; Jones 2012; Jones et al 2011; Robb 2020), and details like the use of cracks to enhance the Fabulous Stag's muzzle, or the positioning of the juvenile deer moving upwards in the convexities of the stone surface, seem to fit well with this characteristic.…”

“…Although its chronology is somewhat disputed and its development had regional variations, ARA is widely considered to have been created during the fourth and third millennia bce (e.g. Alves 2003; Bradley 1997; 2020; Fábregas-Valcarce & Rodríguez-Rellán 2012; Jones et al 2011; O'Connor 2006; Shee Twohig et al 2010; for a detailed discussion on ARA chronology, see Valdez-Tullett 2019, 17–24). In Iberia the circular motifs are often accompanied by figurative representations of animals (notably horses and deer) (Fig.…”