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The Binn is a rock carving site located 300 metres east-south-east of Silverbarton in Fife, Scotland. The monument comprises cup marks and carved crosses pecked into the bedrock, a type of rock art found across Scotland with origins extending back into prehistoric times. The site is situated on an unnamed Carboniferous to Permian igneous intrusion composed of pyroclastic rock, which provides a relatively receptive surface for such carvings compared to harder granite formations.
Cup marks—small, deliberately pecked circular depressions—are among the earliest forms of rock art in Britain, though their precise chronology and purpose remain debated. The presence of carved crosses at The Binn indicates later use of the site, likely relating to early Christian or medieval practices, when earlier prehistoric carvings were sometimes integrated into new spiritual landscapes. This layering of ritual use across millennia is common at prominent natural features.
The site's location on distinctive pyroclastic bedrock and its proximity to Silverbarton connect it to the local topography and settlement patterns of Fife. The Binn is protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument under reference SM10987, recognising its significance as evidence of how successive communities marked and used their landscape through rock art.
The Binn, cup marks and carved crosses 300m ESE of Silverbarton is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM10987. View the official record →
The Binn is a rock carving site located 300 metres east-south-east of Silverbarton in Fife, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM10987.
The Binn, cup marks and carved crosses 300m ESE of Silverbarton 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 SM10987.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Silverbarton Farm, cup-marks 320m ENE of (0.2 km), Kirkton,old parish church (0.6 km), Aberdour Castle (3.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of The Binn, cup marks and carved crosses 300m ESE of Silverbarton'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.
The Binn, cup marks and carved crosses 300m ESE of Silverbarton stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Carboniferous To Permian, bedrock that formed in the Permian. The rock here is pyroclastic-rock.