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Milton of Farr cupmarks is a rock art site in Inverness-shire, comprising a series of man-made cup depressions pecked into the bedrock surface. The site lies approximately 110 metres south-east of Milton of Farr itself, situated on metamorphic rocks of the Moine Supergroup that underlie the landscape. These ancient gneissose psammites and semipelites, formed during the Neoproterozoic, provide the canvas upon which the cupmarks were created, their exposure on the hillside offering a natural platform for Bronze Age or Neolithic rock art.
Cupmark panels are amongst Scotland's earliest decorated monuments, typically created by repeatedly striking the rock surface with stone tools to produce shallow hemispherical depressions. Milton of Farr adds to the known distribution of such sites across northern Scotland, though the exact number of cupmarks on this particular outcrop and their precise arrangement remain significant to understanding local prehistoric artistic practices.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM11556, recognising its archaeological importance and vulnerability. The Moine bedrock's metamorphic character and weathering patterns have shaped the preservation of these ancient cup depressions, making this Inverness-shire location a tangible record of early artistic expression on the Scottish landscape.
Milton of Farr, cupmarks 110m SE of is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11556. View the official record →
Milton of Farr cupmarks is a rock art site in Inverness-shire, comprising a series of man-made cup depressions pecked into the bedrock surface. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11556.
Milton of Farr, cupmarks 110m SE of 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 SM11556.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Stonehenge House, chambered cairn 20m WNW of (0.7 km), Depopulated township, 400m SE of Balloan (0.9 km), Glen Nairn, hut circle 270m ENE of (1.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Milton of Farr, cupmarks 110m SE of'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.
Milton of Farr, cupmarks 110m SE of stands on Moine Supergroup, bedrock that formed in the Neoproterozoic. The rock here is gneissose psammite and gneissose semipelite.