© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic Environment Scotland
Cup and ring marked boulder, 40m south of Treetops House, is a prehistoric rock art panel located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The monument consists of a natural boulder decorated with cup marks—small, deliberately pecked depressions—and ring marks, concentric circles carved around or adjoining them. This form of abstract rock art is characteristic of Bronze Age communities in northern Britain, though the precise date of creation remains uncertain. The design represents the artistic or ritual expression of people who inhabited this landscape thousands of years ago.
The boulder sits upon bedrock of the Argyll Group, Neoproterozoic psammite, semipelite and pelite deposits that form the underlying geology of this part of Aberdeenshire. The choice of this particular stone as a canvas for carving may reflect its natural prominence or accessibility within the local terrain. Cup and ring marked rocks are distributed across Scotland and northern England, often found in upland or moorland settings where they were created by impact with stone tools.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM13751, recognising its significance as evidence of prehistoric artistic practice and cultural identity in northeast Scotland. The survival of these carved marks depends on the durability of the host rock and the protection of the site from damage and weathering.
Cup and ring marked boulder, 40m S of Treetops House is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13751. View the official record →
Cup and ring marked boulder, 40m south of Treetops House, is a prehistoric rock art panel located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM13751.
Cup and ring marked boulder, 40m S of Treetops House is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM13751.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Normandykes,Roman camp (5.9 km), Mains of Altries, ring cairn 70m NE of (6.2 km), Standingstones, standing stone 275m ESE of (7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cup and ring marked boulder, 40m S of Treetops House's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Cup and ring marked boulder, 40m S of Treetops House stands on Argyll Group, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is psammite, semipelite and pelite.