Ormaig Rock Art
Ormaig Cupmarked Rocks · Creag Mhor Carvings
Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age·Kilmartin Late Neolithic·🇬🇧 Kilmartin Glen, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, United Kingdom
About
About Ormaig Rock Art
Cluster of cup-and-ring rocks in Ormaig Forest south of Kilmichael Glassary, cleared from forestry in the 1970s, carved c.3000–2000 BCE. Six principal outcrops bear >120 motifs including cups, rings, rosettes, and a unique 'keyhole' shape. The art occupies a forest clearing 320 m south of Ormaig farmstead on Creag Mhor shoulder, intervisible with Cairnbaan.
Why it mattersCluster of cup-and-ring rocks in Ormaig Forest south of Kilmichael Glassary, cleared from forestry in the 1970s, carved c.3000–2000 BCE. Six principal outcrops bear >120 motifs including cups, rings, rosettes, and a uniq
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Forest versus open moor original setting
Theories
- 01Clearing as secluded ritual focus
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 3000–2000 BCE
- Period
- Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age
- Culture
- Kilmartin Late Neolithic
- Purpose
- Rock art forest clearing
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 3000–2000 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1212 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
56.0764° N · 5.5122° W · 95 m · 2 mapped features
Ormaig Panel 1
rock artLargest outcrop 4×2 m with 40+ cup-and-ring motifs, including keyhole
56.0764° N · 5.5122° WOrmaig Panel 3
rock artSlope outcrop with paired rosettes and tail channels
56.0765° N · 5.5123° W