Ballygowan Cup and Ring Marks
Ballygowan Cup and Ring Marks
Bronze Age cup and ring marks decorate natural rock faces at Ballygowan on the western edge of Kilmartin Glen. The marks date to around 3000 BC and are among several similar sites along the glen.

The Ballygowan carvings are relatively simple but well-preserved. There are numerous cups (depressions carved into the rock face) and several are at the centre of concentric rings. Grooves link the marks together.

A unique feature of the Ballygowan site is that the rock marks do not overlap, which has led Historic Scotland to speculate that there were carved over a relatively short time span, unlike similar sites further south where carvings obviously intersect and overlap.

Another interesting thing about this site is that the carvings seem to be clustered in the centre of the rock face, leaving plenty of space around the edges.