Kilmichael Glassary Rock Art

Beside the primary school in the small village of Kilmichael Glassary, south of Kilmartin, a single fenced outcrop is covered with prehistoric carvings about 5,000 years old. Every rock art site around Kilmartin has its own character, and this one is known for its keyhole-shaped marks, found nowhere else in the area: HES counts at least four, along with at least 47 plain cup marks and five cups with single rings. Some of the larger cups have long gutters running from them, like those at Cairnbaan. The designs are abstract, with no people or animals, and their meaning is unknown; one idea is that they were messages tied to the landscape, with the more complex carvings near the lowland settlements. The rock now sits among the houses of a small estate, with the parish church and churchyard close by, and visitors often spot more cup and ring marks on the neighbouring rocks. Park by the school and play park and walk up to the stile in the fence.