Carnasserie Rock Art Excavation 2023
Introducing the Three Rock Art Panels
The project focused on three rock art panels located at Carnasserie, which are only a few minutes’ walk from each other. These panels were selected for their contrasting characteristics, both in the appearance of the carvings and the shape of the bedrock. None of the panels appeared to have been disturbed by later activities, although they are clearly situated in a landscape that reflects a history of human activity from prehistory to the present day, including quarrying and agricultural practices.
In this video, Dr. Aaron Watson, one of the project directors, presents an introduction to the sites:
Above: Dr Aaron Watson introduces the sites
Rock Art Site 1
This sloping slab is low to the ground and difficult to locate, yet it displays one of the most complex carved panels at Carnasserie, including a cup mark surrounded by several rings.
Above: Site 1 in the landscape. The carvings are visible on the sloping slab in the foreground (Photo: Aaron Watson)
Above: The carvings on Site 1 revealed by low sunlight (Photo: Aaron Watson)
In 2018, Scotland’s Rock Art Project cleaned vegetation from the visible rock surface to undertake recording and photogrammetry. Please click on the button below to view and interact with the online three-dimensional model they created:
Would our trenches reveal any hidden carvings and might there be any deposits nearby?
Rock Art Site 2
This bedrock slab contrasts with Site 1 in significant ways. While it is also level with the ground surface, the carved surface is level rather than sloping. No cups with rings have been recorded there, but it is marked by more than 20 cup marks, a few dumbbells (conjoined cup marks) and various hollows, which may be natural. Fine fissures cross the surface of the rock.
Two trenches will be excavated at Site 2. The first will seek to reveal the outcrop's limits and record any further motifs. Does the character of the rock art visible in the exposed area continue, or are there hidden cups with rings? A second trench will be opened within an intriguing ‘hollow’ on the north side of the panel. Excavations elsewhere have shown that features like this can be a focus for deposits.
Above: Site 2 in the landscape. There are other rock art sites on the outcrops beyond, including Site 3 (Photo: Aaron Watson)
Above: Site 2 lit by low sunlight, highlighting the cup marks and fissures (Photo: Aaron Watson)
In 2018, Scotland’s Rock Art Project cleaned vegetation from the visible rock surface to undertake recording and photogrammetry (they numbered this site as Carnasserie Farm 5). Please click on the button below to view and interact with the online three-dimensional model they created:
Rock Art Site 3
The visible rock art here is the simplest of all the three sites; nine cup marks have been recorded. The simplicity of the carvings contrasts with their being located upon an upstanding ‘rib’ of bedrock that extends across the hillside.
One trench will explore the top of the outcrop and reveal the full extent of the carvings, and their character. A second will explore the base of the rock to see if any evidence of activity survives there.
Above: The cup marks are situated on the top of the rocky outcrop (Photo: Aaron Watson)
In 2018, Scotland’s Rock Art Project carefully cleaned back vegetation to undertake recording and photogrammetry. Please click on the button below to view and interact with the online three-dimensional model they created:
Please click on one of the options below for further information:
Why Excavate Rock Art?
Many thanks
The Carnasserie Farm Rock Art project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The fieldwork was co-directed by Dr Aaron Watson and Dr Sharon Webb (Kilmartin Museum) and Dr Gavin MacGregor and Kieran Manchip (Archaeology Scotland). Julia Hamilton and Jacquelyn Condie from Kilmartin Museum’s Education Team facilitated school visits and supported the open days. We want to say a massive thank you to all the volunteers who made the project possible and to geologist Dr Roger Anderton for his expertise. Thanks also to Ann Clark for the lithics analysis, Dr Susan Ramsay for the archaeobotanics and Dr Alison Sheridan for commenting on the pottery. Finally, we extend our thanks to the landowner at Carnasserie Farm, Rosemary Neagle.
