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King's Park cup and ring mark is a prehistoric rock carving located in Stirlingshire, Scotland. The motif consists of a cup—a small circular depression—surrounded by concentric rings pecked into the living rock surface. Such carvings are characteristic of later Neolithic and Bronze Age societies across Britain and Ireland, typically dating between 3000 and 1500 BCE, though their precise chronology remains uncertain.
The carving is cut into bedrock formed from a Carboniferous to Permian igneous intrusion of dolerite and tholeiitic basalt. This hard volcanic stone required patient, repetitive percussion with stone tools to create the shallow but distinct cup and ring motif. The choice of such resistant bedrock as a canvas suggests the carvers valued permanence and visibility.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under scheduled monument reference SM2540, recognising its significance as a record of prehistoric artistic and ritual practice. Cup and ring marks, whether created singly or in groups, remain enigmatic—their purpose may have been territorial, ceremonial, or commemorative—but they represent a sustained commitment by ancient communities to marking their landscape.
King's Park,cup & ring mark is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2540. View the official record →
King's Park cup and ring mark is a prehistoric rock carving located in Stirlingshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2540.
King's Park,cup & ring mark 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 SM2540.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Common Hill,homestead (6 km), Plean Cottages,palisaded enclosure 350m SSE of (6.9 km), Plean Farm,ring ditch 800m SE of (7.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of King's Park,cup & ring mark'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.
King's Park,cup & ring mark stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Carboniferous To Permian, bedrock that formed in the Permian. The rock here is dolerite and tholeiitic basalt.