Gary R. Varner: Portals To Other Realms Cup-Marked Stone

Portals to Other Realms
Cup-Marked Stones and Pre-Historic

Rock Carvings
Gary R. Varner
Introduction by Vyacheslav Mizin
This work may not be reproduced in any manner without the
written consent of the publisher and copyright holder.
© 2012 by Gary R. Varner
ISBN: 978-1-300-14449-6
Visit the author’s website:

www.authorsden.com/garyrvarner
Title page illustration dolmen with cup-marked

capstone, near Clynnog Fawr, Canarvonshire, Wales
1882. The capstone has a total of 110 cup-marks.
An OakChylde Book
Printed in the United States by Lulu Press, Inc.
Raleigh, NC
2
Contents
Introduction 5
Forward 8
A Cross-Cultural Overview 10
Purpose and Functionality 49
Small Cup Stones and Pitted Stones 78
Alternative Views 83
Timeline: A Chronology of Cup-Marks 89
Afterword 93
Bibliography 94
About the Authors 99
3
“It is impossible to contemplate these mysterious
markings, so widely spread over almost the entire world,
but so strangely similar whether found in England,
Ireland, Scotland, Central Europe, India, Australia,
Switzerland, Sweden or South America, without asking
by whom were they made and what is their signification?
If they are merely ornamental, they are of course
interesting—and some of them no doubt may fairly be
described—but there is probably a deeper meaning
attached to them which is not so easily arrived at.”
-- Archaic Rock Inscriptions: An Account of the Cup &

Ring Markings on the Sculptured Stones of the Old and
New World 1891
4
Introduction
Perspectives and Research Problems
Vyacheslav Mizin, Member Russian Geographical Society,
St. Petersburg, Russia
Cup-marked stones are a specific group of monuments known

in many countries and from different periods. In most cases, this
group include the stones on which are carved small bowl-shaped
depression often formed in groups. Cup-marked stones include
stones with small natural cavities on the surface, which were also
used in rituals.
The main problem in studying of cup-marked stones is the local

approach. Most studies have considered only a small territory of
distribution of these monuments. It certainly is not incorrect, but this
approach has disadvantages, because it does not include the
overall picture even within Europe. For example, the largest number
of cup-marked stones in Eastern Europe are in Finland and Estonia;
further to the east their number is dramatically reduced. In the west
- in Lithuania and Belarus they are also significantly less, but in
Western Europe, beginning in Germany, there is again a large
number of cup depressions. In Europe, probably, it is possible to
allocate three regions large concentrations of cup-marked stones -
Finno-Ugric countries Finland and Estonia, Western Europe (the
megalithic area) - British Isles, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden and
the Caucasus. The last region is not yet fully understood, but the
available findings suggest a much larger number of cup-marked
stones in this region.
Another problem is the correlation of these stones with

archaeological cultures. While in Western Europe cup-marked
stones are correlated to the cultures of the Bronze Age, then Finno-
Ugric people date them back to the Iron Age. Special attention is
required for cup-marked stones that occur in different regions at
different times, among different people and in different religious
traditions. The question is - what are they connected with? What
5
religious and philosophical ideas are behind this proliferation of cup-
marked stones?
Another relevant issue is the origin of cups - in some regions

they are clearly man-made, in others their origin is not clear, in the
third, they are obviously natural, but have exactly the same set of
traditions and superstitions, as well as man-made cup-marked
stones. Can we say that the tradition of grinding cups could
originate from some natural prototype? If we are talking about the
traditions and legends associated with the use of water, which is
collected in cups, it is possible.
But it should be noted that cups are not always carved so that
they could collect water.
From different studies the purpose of cups can be classified in

several possible assignments:
1. Water collected from the cups has curative properties
2. Offerings to the gods, spirits, and ancestors were often left in
the cups. In effect, creating an altar.
3. Cups depicted the constellations and the sun – part of the
astral and solar cults?
4. Cups appear occasionally on rock surfaces which produce
unusual sounds when struck, these are lytophones- ancient musical
instruments (Sweden, Scotland).
5. Cups have a symbolic value and are associated with the
"eyes of deities", passage to the Other World and other
mythological subjects.
6. Cups were decorative elements (for example, the temple in
Malta)
7. Perhaps, cups carry in their characteristics (size, depth and
relative position) encrypted information, the meaning of which is
unclear to us now.
8. Some cup-marked stones were used for games, more
reminiscent of divination in which the result was determined
variability of the falling of an object in a particular cup (North
Caucasus).
6
The most promising directions in studying of cup-marked stones
may be the following:
1. Search for possible cultural, archeological and other
relationships between the regions of spread of cup-marked stones
2. The binding of cup-marked stones to archaeological cultures
and ethnic groups, matching with folkloric data.
3. Identification of possible features of cup-marked stones -
lytophones, cup-marked stones with schemes of constellations and
other specific groups of these monuments.
4. What functions do these cup-marks serve, carved on the
megaliths - a decorative pattern, or do they carry some unknown
form of information?
5. No less interesting are extant legends, traditions and
superstitions, associated with cup-marked stones.
Certainly one of the important steps will be a generalization of

the material which exceeds the limits of modern borders. The
beginning of this work has already been made in Western Europe,
where cup-marked stones are considered in the context of the
megalithic culture, as well as in Estonia and Finland, where in both
countries cup-marked stones are considered in the overall regional
context of resettlement of East Baltic Finno-Ugric people.
Perhaps one of the most promising directions can become the

instrumentation studying of the properties of water in the cups,
where it is considered curative. But one thing is clear- regardless
what direction the study of cup-marked stones takes in the future,
these objects will always attract researchers in different countries,
having different views of them and different approaches to them.
7
Forward
The problems which Vyacheslav Mizin outlined in the
introduction are problems which most archaeologists and
researchers experience with ancient sites around the world in which
the actual origin, purpose and symbolic meanings of objects and
sites can only be guessed at. Cup-marked stones are certainly a
phenomenon well known in Europe and, in fact, most research
appears to be concentrated in the European environment. However,
such anomalies are also present in most every other geographic
area of the world—the United States included.
Vyacheslav’s list of classifications also can be applied to these

sites in the United States. Perhaps an additional area of research
can be added to those listed by Vyacheslav—why do these cup-
marked stones appear in such a widely diverse cultural,
geographical and temporal universe in such an identical manner?
Was there a common need, a common symbolism, a common
origin for these stones? Are all of the theorized purposes for these
stones (i.e., star maps, event markers, games, etc) legitimate uses?
Are all of them, even though they are so similar in appearance and
location, accidental creations or of independent origin?
Unfortunately even though these objects are mentioned and

technically described in archaeological journals they are fairly
ignored in terms of their relationship to culture. They do not figure in
ethnographic studies nor in any detail in any other study. I believe
this is due to the almost complete lack of understanding for them
and for any knowledge of “why” they exist at all.
While cup-marked stones, for the most part, are not nor can
they be of a utilitarian nature this is something that must be further
tested as well. They are certainly different in characteristic than the
typical mortar found which were used as a food and pigment
preparation tool in Native American cultures. I am aware of only one
archaeological investigation where cup-marked stones underwent
immunological analysis. In this instance cross-over
immunoelectroporesis (CIEP) tests were performed. These tests
can determine the presence of bloodstains, body tissues and fluids.
8
Twenty-five artifacts were tested in this sample from archaeological
site CA-SLO-762 located at Cambria, San Luis Obispo County,
California.1 The results indicated that clam and trout had been
present in the cups at one time. Of course this could also be
explained possibly as the residue of offerings which are widely
surmised for other such sites around the world. The tested sites
have been dated to 4010 to 4900 years in age.
We must come to the very real possibility that we may never

know the answers to our questions about these interesting artifacts
but modern science must begin to think outside the box and
entertain that some of the answers may lie in the age-old folklore
which appears to accompany these sites around the world.
I would like to thank Vyacheslav for the introduction as well as

for some of the illustrations and site-material that went into this
book. He has been of great assistance in this endeavor.
Gary R. Varner
California
1
Breschini, Gary S. and Trudy Haversat. Pitted Stones from CA-SLO-697
and CA-SLO-762, Cambria, San Luis Obispo County, California. California
Prehistory.com accessed 8/28/2012.
9
A Cross-Cultural Overview
Cup marks are those shallow cup-like indentations made on
boulders and megaliths the world over. Their true purpose is
unknown however they are probably tied to shamanic rituals and/or
fertility practices and appear to be connected to the dead. They are
found in every continent in the world, from North America
throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands and may
have a common purpose and timeline. In the Scandinavian country
of Uppland over 30,000 cup marks have been counted.
Cup-marked stones are often referred to in archaeological

literature however in-depth studies have been seriously lacking.
The purposes and possible uses have only been guessed at by
archaeologists.
While ancient in their origin, many of these cup-marked stones

have continuously been used by people who still put holy water or
milk in them as offerings to God—or to Faeries. Lewis Spence
noted in his book, Legends and Romances of Brittany that many of
the tombstones in Brittany have these cup-marks, as do the roof-
slabs on ancient dolmens, and that they may have served as food
receptacles for the dead. 2 This may be true for some of the
monuments but many are located on areas that are not associated
with the dead—or at least the dead have not been located as yet.
This theory falls short however when you consider that cup marks
are also commonly found on the underside of dolmens, rock
overhangs, cave roofs and on the sides of standing stones.
2
Spence, Lewis. Legends and Romances of Brittany. Mineola: Dover
Publications, Inc. 1997, 383.
10
“Predas fittas”, or standing stone of early Neolithic Sardinia with cups and
holes “indicating religious matter not yet completely fathomed.”
Many researchers believe that these cup marks are

representative of fire and the sun or as part of the thunder cult. In
support of this theory they suggest that many of the boulders that
contain cup marks also have hand, foot and wheel carvings or
paintings and that these are, as Maringer states, “symbols of the
sky, or solar, cult.” 3 It is common in Scandinavian sites where cup
marked stones are located to also have an association with foot and
handprints. Lithuanian archaeologist Inga Marmaite of the
Department of Archaeology, Vilnius University notes “it would seem
that foot-marked stones are related to the cult of the dead, the fact,
3
Maringer, Johannes. The Gods of Prehistoric Man. London: Phoenix
Press 1956, 182
11
which could be proved by the not very clear but still distinguished
connection with the burial monuments, as well as appropriate
mythological parallels and folklore data.” 4 It appears that there are
as many possible explanations for these objects as there are cup
marks. Obviously there is no one explanation that fits all of these
locations but I do not believe that we can assume that foot and
hand representations are only associated with a sky-god but, rather,
may represent the person and the person’s presence in time and
space—be he dead or alive. In this light others have suggested that
the hand and foot impressions found in Native American sites
represent a shaman’s posting of a place as one of power and
importance.
Archaeologist and rock art expert David Whitley wrote, “it is

likely that the grinding of these depressions was related to larger
beliefs about the rock and site itself; specifically, that the rock was
the entrance to the supernatural world and grinding cupules into it
allowed access to the supernatural power contained therein.” 5
Other Southern California archaeologists theorize that these cup
marked boulders “are related to fertility rites, and they represent the
female genitalia.” 6 Ethnographic evidence points to other uses as
well. A cup marked stone at Hospital Rock, in Kings Canyon
National Park in California has a number of depressions
approximately one inch deep and two inches in diameter that may
have been used by shamans to induce rain or, “in some cases, by
barren women who desired to conceive children.” 7
A cup-marked stone located in Roseville, California at an

ancient Maidu village site is said to have been an entryway by
shamans to the other world. After they had reached a state of
trance they would fly through the cup mark to the nearby stream
4
http://viking.hgo.se/bsaan/papers01/marmaite.html
5
Whitley, David S. A Guide to Rock Art Sites: Southern California and
Southern Nevada. Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company
1996,95
6
McGowan, Charlotte. Ceremonial Fertility Sites in Southern California.
San Diego Museum Papers No. 14, San Diego Museum of Man 1982, 13.
7
Elsasser, A. B. Indians of Sequoia and Kings Canyon. Three Rivers:
Sequoia Natural History Association 1962, 11.
12
where they would then journey to the spirit world to learn new
healing techniques. When they returned they would have learned
those new ways and applied them to their people.
Maidu cup-marked stone. Entryway to the spirit world. Photo by Gary R.

Varner.
San Diego County archaeologist Gary Fink noted that the

numerous cup marked rocks in San Diego County are often
associated with villages and campsites and all date to within the last
500 years. Fink notes that “ethnographic explanations for cupule-
petroglyph sites include such things as “baby rocks” made by
women desirous of offspring. Rain rocks…were made in the hope of
bringing rain to an area.” 8
During extensive excavations in Ventura and Santa Barbara

counties in California in the early 1900’s two clusters of charm-
stones in distinctive cigar-shapes were found. Measuring from two
inches to over thirteen inches in length they were carved from non-
native stone and were laid out in a radiating circular pattern. Some
8
Fink, Gary. “Some Rock Art Sites in San Diego County” in Pacific Coast
Archaeological Society Quarterly, Vol. 15, No . 2, April 1979, 67
13
of them had been placed “in a small cup-shaped boulder like a golf-
ball in a tee.” 9 An old Indian, called “Old George”, was shown one
of the cigar-shaped stones and became terrified, saying that it “may
not be dead”. According to Old George, “such stones are alive and
burrow in the ground like moles. To look at one would cause
serious illness, perhaps paralysis. Only a medicine man could
capture one and only he knew how to kill it.” 10 The association of
these stones with cup-marked boulders is uncertain—perhaps it
was a way to control the “living stones” so that harm would not be
visited upon the residents of the area.
In other areas of the world cup-marked stones were valued for

their supposed healing powers. Russian researcher Vyacheslav
Mizin wrote “In many places, water collecting in cup-marked stones
or those with circular depressions, footprint stones and other
depressions was considered to have curative properties, and
touching some of the stones can also heal…” 11
In such diverse locations as Europe, North America and

Australia many of these cup marked boulders also include lines
carved and radiating between the cups and beyond. Some theorize
that the cup marks represent the womb and the straight lines
pathways to guide the spirit to the womb of pregnant or barren
women for a safe birth. Others think that these straight lines
represent the penis or even semen entering the vulva. This form of
rock art is more common in the Great Basin and is believed to
represent the oldest style in the Basin, dating back to more than
7,000 years.
Obviously the American, European and Australian cup marked

boulders are most likely from different eras and may have had
different purposes. While the European and British archaeologists
believe that cup-marks represent death the American
9
Johnston, Bernice Eastman. California’s Gabrielino Indians. Los Angeles:
Southwest Museum 1962, 71.
10
Ibid.
11
Mizin, V.G. “Selected Sacred Stones and Stone Lore in Northwestern
Russia” in Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness
and Culture, Vol. 5, Issue 2, July 2012, 180
14
archaeologists believe that they represent fertility and life. Both
explanations may be valid. This patterning is also found in Estonia.
One such cup-marked stone in the village of Valasti has 30
individual cup-marks, which “are linked together by long well-
preserved channels.” 12
Estonia is one of those rare gems in the world. Christianized

relatively recently, ancient folkways are still practiced as they have
been for untold generations. In fact recent data indicates that only
16% of the population believes in a Christian god with the
remainder observing ancient and traditional practices. By looking at
Estonian folklore we may be able to glimpse the uses applied to
these stones over time. As in other European and British sites
where cup-marked stones are found, many of those in Estonia are
also located near Bronze Age burials. However, as in these other
areas these cup-marked stones were probably of a mixed usage—
both recognizing places of death and of fertility.
Folklore collected in 1939 about cup-marked stones in the

Estonian village of Kaaruka indicated that the cup-marks were
“passages through which dead souls entered the other world, as in
the past the relatives of the deceased used to carve a small hole in
the stone”. 13
Native Americans also saw passageways through cupules to

other dimensions and the spirit world.
Cup-marks are found on burial mounds and passage tombs in

the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe and Asia. One noted
example is that of Newgrange in Ireland. Dating back some 5,200
years, Newgrange is one of the finest examples of Neolithic
monuments still in existence. Newgrange and the other nearby
passage-tombs and stone circles were constructed for the dead and
so the cup-marked stones that are part of this monument would
seem to give credence to the belief that they were passage ways
for the use of the dead.
12
Tvauri, Andres. “Cup-Marked Stones in Estonia” in Folklore, Vol. 11,
October 1999. Tartu: Institute of the Estonian Language, 132.
13
Ibid., 143
15
Miwok Cupule Site, Grinding Rock State Park, Plymouth, California. Note
the lineal line from one cup to another. Photo by Gary R. Varner.
16
Newgrange kerbstone #52 petroglyphs with cup-marks. Photo by Claire
O’Kelly.
While many of the 97 kerbstones at Newgrange have decorative

carvings the cup-marks appear to represent something beyond the
normal decorative motifs. As seen in the photograph above, one
cup-mark was inserted into the middle of two concentric circles as
well as in three rectangular “boxes.”
The photograph on the following page of a detail of kerbstone

#13 also shows cup-marks in concentric circles as well as in two
groups toward the right edge.
Carvings of circles and concentric rings, especially on

megalithic graves, “may be interpreted as representations of sinking
into the seas of death or perhaps or miraculously re-emerging from
them,” wrote Hans Biedermann, “suggesting a doctrine of death and
rebirth, symbolized by concentric waves.”14 Circles, of course, have
no beginning and no end as well as no direction.
14
Biedermann, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons & The
Meanings Behind Them. New York: Meridian 1992, 70
17
Many cup-marked stones tentatively dated to the Neolithic or
early Bronze Age incorporate the cups with maze or labyrinthine
carvings as illustrated in the two photographs above. It is possible
however that a labyrinth form in itself was not intended but the cup
and ring motif may have inadvertently created the design. Historian
Jeff Saward noted “whether one form evolved from the other, or
whether the labyrinthine symbol was developed separately, remains
unclear.” 15
However, Saward writes, “a perfectly drawn labyrinth with a

deep cup-like depression at its center on the aptly named Pedra do
Labrinto near San Xurxo de Mogor, Marin, (Spain) is accompanied
by a number of concentric ‘cup and ring’ marks. This is one of the
most distinctive symbols to appear on these ancient rock art
panels.”16
Newgrange kerbstone #13 cup-marks. Photo by Claire O’Kelly.
15
Saward, Jeff. Labyrinths & Mazes. New York: Lark Books 2003, 37
16
Ibid., 38
18
McMann noted that the cup and ring motif found in the
Valcamonica valley north of Milan, where some 130,000 rock
carvings have been catalogued, were added by the ancient
Camunian culture between 4,000 to 2500 BCE. 17 Interestingly
these dates fit nicely with similar carvings found in California of cup
and ring design. Evidently during the second half of the Neolithic
period rock art changed from predominately animal and
anthropomorphic figures to schematic figures, symbols and
abstractions—including the cup and ring style.
The following beautiful rock art featuring cup and ring designs is
referred to as the Laxe dos carballos petroglyph, in Campo
Lameiro, Galicia (Spain). Dating to the 2nd to 4th millemium (BCE):
thess cup-and-ring marks and pits appear on a deer hunting scene.
Photo by Froaringus 2011
17
McMann, Jean. Riddles of the Stone Age: Rock Carvings of Ancient
Europe. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1980, 90
19
Rock panels similar to those at Newgrange and adorned with
cup and ring designs have also been discovered in Australia. The
photo below shows one such panel located in the Cleland Hills
some 200 miles west of Alice Springs containing a series of
connected cup-marks.
Photo from The Prehistory of Australia by D.J. Mulvaney, published by

Frederick A. Praeger Publishers 1969.
Of interest as well at Newgrange are four shallow basins,

appropriately enough called basin stones. These basins held the
bones, either burnt or unburnt, of those who were interred in the
passage-tomb. In addition offerings of jewelry, pottery, stone balls,
bone pins, beads,arrow-heads and pendants were left in the basin
stones.
The photo below shows one of these basin stones which also
has two cup-marked areas near the top edge. The cup-marks have
no identifiable purpose however it would not be unlikely that these
were also used for offerings—perhaps for food or libation.
20
Newgrange basin stone with cup-marks. Photo by Claire O’Kelly.
Andres Tvauri in his excellent article “Cup-Marked Stones in

Estonia,” notes that a large amount of the folklore concerning these
stones indicates that they have been used as “offering stones”.
“Sacrifices to stones”, writes Tvauri, was very common in Estonia
as late as in the 19th century” with offerings still being made in the
1930’s. 18 Offerings were made for the faery and to obtain healing.
Offerings included fire, blood, milk, fresh meat and burnt grain.
Many of the cup-marked stones are associated with sacred groves
and the stones were probably used as altars.
While the true original purpose of Estonian cup-marked stones

remains elusive the most probable answer is that they were part of
the agricultural-fertility rituals practiced the world over. Evidence
indicates that each year, at the time of sowing, one cup-mark was
carved into a chosen stone as part of a fertility tradition. The
majority of cup-marked stones in Estonia occur in the coastal areas
of the country where agriculture was the most intense. After the
stone was carved and the grain sown the stone no longer had a
sacred relevance for the people residing there. Tvauri notes that
18
Ibid., 138
21
some Scandinavian rock art depicts female figures with cup-marks
between their legs and as recent as 19th century India cup-marks
were carved into stones situated along roads used for bridal
processions.
Ahto Kaasik, in his article “Conserving sacred natural sites in

Estonia” wrote “Sacred stones have been brought to Estonia during
the Weichsel glacerations by glaciers arriving from Scandinavia.
Currently around 500 historical sacred stones are known, which can
range from ten centimeters to ten or more metres. On rare
occasions cup-marks made by humans can be found in them. Even
though around 1700 cup-marked stones are known, less than 20 of
them have been considered sacred.” 19
Additional folklore equates cup-marked stones with giants and

their fingerprints left behind which form the cups.
Several cup-marked stones are associated with holy wells and

ancient churches mixing pagan and Christian theologies. One is
located on the island of Konevets (“Horse Island) located off the
southwestern shore of Lake Ladoga near the village of
Vladimirovka. The island is part of the Priozersky District of the
Saint Petersburg region. While the history of the island is sketchy at
best it is known that the Karelian people living near the island
performed sacrifices on a large granite slab called Horse Rock due
to its resemblance to a horses head. In 1393 a monestary was
established by St. Arseny of Novgorod called the Orthodox
Monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A small chapel
was erected on top of Horse Rock and approximately twenty monks
continue to reside there today.
According to lore the rock was inhabited by demons which were

expelled by St. Arseny. These spirits took the form of black crows
and flew off to the shore of Lake Ladoga in “Devils Bay.” In 2010
Vyacheslav visited Horse Rock and found several stone cairns on
19
Kaasik, Ahto. “Conserving sacred natural sites in Estonia” in The
Diversity of Sacred Lands in Europe-Proceedings of the Third Workshop of
the Delos Initiative-Inari/Aanaar Finland 2010. World Commission of
Protected Areas, 62
22
the hill above the stone in the spruce forest. It is possible that these
cairns have been placed there as an offering as is done in several
areas in California regarded as sacred by Native Americans.
Finnish sources of the early 20th century referred to th chapel

as Pirunkirkko - or "Devil's church." While many ancient pagan sites
have been taken over by the Christian church it is possible that here
the chapel and monestary were built not as a means to convert the
pagan population but as protection against a cursed place.
There are several natural cupules on Horse Rock wherein

pilgrims in the past and continuing today leave offerings of coins.
Orthodox chapel on the Horse Stone on Konevets island at Ladoga lake

(St. Petersburg region, NW Russia). Photo by Vyacheslav Mizin, 2010
23
In the 19th century Horse Rock is mentioned as a legendary
object but not as an sacred object worthy of pilgrimage. This
changed in the 1990s when neopagans began to journey to the
island and the stone became an object of interest. As Vyacheslav
notes “It has everything - the legend of the Saint who expelled
devils, a mysterious large rock near the monastery—but for some
reason the stone was not a popular place for pilgrimages.”
Natural cup-marks on Horse Stone. The pilgrims have left coins at these
depressions (St. Petersburg region, NW Russia). Photo by Vyacheslav
Mizin, 2010
In 2004 archaeologists from the Institute for the History of

Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences discovered
24
stone circles on the bottom of Lake Ladoga dating aas far back as
the Mesolithic indicating a lengthy habitation.20
Cup-marked stones have been utilized in much the same

manner as holy wells have been. For some reason diseases of the
eye were often treated at these sites. Using the ancient
transference techniques, individuals would touch their afflicted
eye(s) with a coin or salt and then leave the coin or salt in one of
the cup-marks—thereby transferring the disease to the stone.
Rainwater that collected in the cup-marks was also collected and
used to treat diseased eyes.
Another cup-marked stone associated with holy wells is in

Yorkshire, England. Called the Well of Cups the actual well is a
spring which flows from beneath a large rock which has a cross
carved into it. Along the top of the rock as well as on other nearby
stones are several cup-marks. According to old-time residents
people used to make an Easter pilgrimage to the well, placing hard
boiled pashe eggs in the cup-marks around the well.
In many sites around the world these cup depressions are

accompanied with concentric rings around the depressions. These
occur commonly during the North American Late Archaic and
Woodland eras as well as in Neolithic Europe and the Middle East.
Some fine examples are also found along the Russian River in
Mendocino County, California. On one recumbent boulder alone
near Rothiemay, Scotland is an array of over 100-cup marks and
cup and ring carvings. What do these symbols represent? Service
and Bradbery wrote that the ring marks are similar to the
representations of the spiral, which is found worldwide. “Where the
spiral may represent the path of the life-bringer”, they say,
“concentric circles may stand for stopping-places on that way.
Where the spiral refers to the Great Goddess, so too does this
concentric sign, symbolizing the belly or womb from which all life
20
Mizin, V.G. “Selected Sacred Stones and Stone Lore in Northwestern
Russia” in Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness
and Culture Vol.5, Issue 2 July 2012, 176
25
comes…it is also seen as representing the navel of the earth—the
omphalos.” 21
The cup and ring designs on this Sardinian standing stone are almost
identical to those found in Great Britain and other locations.
Other theories proposed over the years suggested that these

cup and ring designs were plans for stone enclosures such as Iron
21
Service, Alastair & Jean Bradbery. Megaliths and their Mysteries: A
Guide to Standing Stones of Europe. New York: Macmillan Publishing
Company 1979, 40.
26
Age hill-forts, aligned with star groups—making an ancient star
chart, or simply pre-historic doodles! Cup marked stones have
many traditions associated with them as do other megaliths. The
Roch d'la Sguia, or sliding rock near Bessa, Italy is a large egg-
shaped rock with a number of cup-marks on one side. It is called
the “sliding rock” because women over the years have worn it
smooth sliding down its contours to ensure pregnancy. Bessa is a
unique area with numerous megaliths—many with cup marks.
Researchers have noted that cup marked stones are situated so
that they are exposed to sunlight and many times are slanted
towards the sun. The positioning of these stones, or rather selection
of them, would give credence to the sun or solar disc association.
The vast majority of these stones are also located near bodies of
water but most megaliths fall in to this category as well.
Cup-marked marbleized limestone, Chaw’se. Photo by Gary R.Varner.

Note the “claw” marks toward the right edge of the stone. These marks
have been seen in other areas of the world associated with cup-marks and
pitted stones but their meaning remains unknown.
27
Similar “sliding stones” were located near the village of Ratho
seven miles from Edinbrugh called “The Witches Stone.” Reportedly
the slanted surface of the stone had a line of 24 cup-marks and
became highly polished over the years with the practice of people
sliding down the stone. For the most part barren women did so in
the hope of conceiving a child.
There is some indication that solar associations were also seen

in Native American cup-marked stones. At the Miwok ceremonial
site Chaw’se (Miwok for “grinding stone”, located near Jackson,
California, a huge slab of marbleized limestone has been used to
produce almost twelve-hundred cupules along with over 350
petroglyphs. One of these appears to have been designed to
illustrate solar symbolism.
A section of marbleized limestone at Chaw’se filled with approximately

1200 cup-marks. Photo by Gary R. Varner.
28
Chaw’se is the largest collection of bedrock cups in North
America and one of two with petroglyphs. As indicated, one of the
cupules has solar rays emanating around it. Archaeologists have
determined that the cupules are up to 6,000 years in age while the
rock art which has been added to the stones are approximately
2,000 years old—showing a continuation of usage by different
peoples over different times. Chaw’se is the only known location
where mortars and cu-marks have been intentionally decorated with
rock art.
Chaw’se “solar” style cupola. Photo by Gary R. Varner.
Petroglyphs on the bedrock indicate that this site was an

important ritual preparation location for puberty-fertility ceremonies
for Native Americans. In other areas of California evidence
indicates that cup-marks were used for grinding pigments for body
decoration and rock-art used in puberty rituals. The photo below
shows a petroglyph with a vulva motif near several mortars-cup-
marks.
Another very real possibility is that the cup-marked stones were

created to make certain sounds when struck. This certainly would
29
be an important ritual tool and there are other locations around the
world where “singing” stones have been found. A few years ago an
American rock art enthusiast, on safari in Tanzania, was taken by
her guides to a large rock outcrop. On top of the rock were a
number of cup marks and, as she relates the story, “before I knew
what was happening, one of our drivers picked up a stone and
started rapping on the cup marks! It was a musical instrument. The
rock was tuned! Every cup mark had a different tone, and
eventually the driver actually played a scale of notes. It was quite
pleasing to the ear.” Her driver “explained that the cup marks were
carved about 200 years ago by the Masaii. After a good rain, people
would come to the rock outcrop. Leaders or shamans would climb
the outcrop, and ‘play’ the rock with the cup marks, leading the rest
of the tribe below in songs of thanks.” 22
Chaw’se vulva motif petroglyph. Photo by Gary R. Varner.
22
http://stones.non-
prophet.org/archive/Ancient/000000/1023499901004317.html.
30
Similar “ringing” cup-marked stones have been found in
Sweden. According to Mizin, “In Sweden, are known many cup-
marked stones, and among them is one surprising category—
“ringing stones”. One of these stones is “the Björnlund Stone”. This
stone is located in the Björnlund parish in Södermanland County, at
an altitude of about 20 meters above todays sea level. Cup-marks
are on the top of this stone and around it are several cairns as well
as two sites with petroglyphs. Another ringing stone is called “the
Fole stone” and is situated in the Gotland island, between the
parishes of Fole and Lokrum. On this stone there are 23 cups on
the top and side edges, the diameter of cups is 5-11cm, depth - 0.5-
3.5cm. In historical times this stone was split into two parts, with 19
cups on larger part and 4 cups on smaller part. In Uppsala is known
a ringing “Haga stone”. On this stone are 16 cups on its three sides,
the diameter of cups is 4-11cm, and the depth - 0.5-3.5cm. The
sound is much stronger in the part of the stone where cups are.
Another ringing stone is the “Rasbo stone” (Sweden – Rasbostenen
- "The stone, in which lives a noise"). It is located in the Rasbo
parish in Uppland. It has two cups (diameter 10cm and depth-1cm).
The “Sangel ringing stone” is located on the Gotland island (Baltic
sea), it has 30 cups (4-13cm diameter, depth 0,5-4,2cm). The
ringing stones in Sweden are dated to the Bonze Age. Of the six
famous ringing stones in Sweden, five of them are cup-marked
stones.”
Ethnographic information indicates that the Luiseño Indians in

San Diego County, California used cup-marked boulders in boys
and girls’ puberty rituals—also to make musical sounds. However
ethnographic information also indicates that there was no one
purpose for these markings but were used in different ways by
different groups and tribes. A cup-marked stone in Yokut territory
was known as “Pahpahwits” or “Sounding ore ringing place” and
reportedly it was struck and “rung” by those passing along the trail.
Not all cup marked stones are musical so this is only one possible
reason for their creation.
In Northern California many of the cup-marked stones mark

mythological events and places utilized for vision quests. Offerings
31
were more than likely left at these holy places as well and certainly
prayers would have been made.
It is also probable that many of the mortars (stones where food

was ground and pounded into a paste) identified in archaeological
surveys have been misidentified and are, in reality, cup-marked
stones. Some of the areas that I have seen identified as mortar
locations were situated in difficult places to reach and were also far
away from any water source, which would have been necessary for
food processing. Cup-marked stones normally have no easily
identifiable utilitarian purpose.
One stone, however, may be tied to a particular use. The

photograph above shows a cup-marked stone from Summit County,
Ohio in which one cup proved to have red-paint residue. Pigment
preparation would have been a common practice among Native
American people for the many rituals and festivities which were an
important aspect in their lives. It is possible that this multi-cupped
stone served as a palette where several pigments could be mixed.
I cannot think that these cup-marked stones and cup and rings
are only coincidentally identical the world over and it may be that
they once did have a common origin and common symbolism. We
are a long way from determining what those are though. What we
do know is those cup marks, or cupules, have been dated to at
least 100,000 years ago and some as far back as 700,000 years.
32
Use by Neanderthal groups has been established. Such markings
are perhaps the longest continuously created symbols in the world.
23
Whitley notes that these sometimes-complex “pit and groove”
carvings located in the American Southwest were “widely made
during the historic period” and “that much (but not necessarily all) of
it is relatively recent.” 24
Again we may ask why such an unusual symbolism would be

found in identical representations across such wide geographic and
cultural areas and extreme time periods.
Cup-marked stones located at Routin Linn in Northumberland,

when examined in 1853, were remarked to be “of great
antiquity…proved by the depth of peaty soil which covers part of
them, and which amounts, even on the slope of a rock, to as much
as nine inches; beneath this soil, the incisions are sharper and
more distinct than those on the exposed surface…” 25
Whitley wrote “Ethnographic evidence on this tradition is

substantial—it demonstrates that there were widespread shared
beliefs and practices underlying the making of this tradition in
different parts of the state [California]”. 26 We are prompted to ask
how these symbols became universally used. What was it during
certain ages around the world that created the need in humankind
to produce the same identical symbols in the same ways? Was
there a common religion—a worldwide religion at that time? Was
there massive cultural diffusion that resulted in a rapid expansion of
ideas and concepts that caught hold of the imagination? Was there
a worldwide priest-class or ruler-class that was responsible for the
same artistic and ritual traditions that occurred in Wisconsin and
23
Knaak, Manfred. The Forgotten Artists: Indians of Anza-Borrego and
their Rock Art. Borrego Springs: Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History
Association 1988, 60.
24
Whitley, David S. The Art of the Shaman: Rock Art of California. Salt
Lake City: The University of Utah Press 2000, 49.
25
Reader, A. Archaic Rock Inscriptions: An Account of the Cup & Ring
Markings on the Sculptured Stones of the Old and New Worlds. London:
n.p. 1891
26
Ibid., 48
33
California as in Spain, Germany and Eastern Europe? Was a
commonly held religion universally recognized around the world in
such diverse cultural and geological settings? Are these similarities
purely a result of the type of life lived at the time, the technologies
available and the common hopes, fears and need that produced a
commonly understood symbolic response? Have these traditions
been carried by the human mind from place to place since our
earliest ancestors began to explore the world and spread across its
sphere? These are all questions that have not been asked and
remain unanswered. I do not believe that we will know the answer
as long as these sites are only analyzed on a regional basis without
comparisons of the similarities around the world being made. The
majority of sites appear to date to the Late Stone Age and the
Bronze Age, which only poses another question—what occurred
during that time to ignite the creative spark in humans to produce
these universal symbols? British archaeologist Colin Burgess
summarizes these symbols appearing on British stone monuments:
“The use of cup and ring marks on stone circles and ring
monuments suggest that, like passage grave art, they were part of
the total religious fabric of the Third Millennium.” 27
There are, of course, other possibilities. Willcox noted that cup-

and-ring petroglyphs found in North Africa were “used…for a well-
known game.” 28
Some of these cup-marked stones may in fact be ancient game

boards for use not only as a form of community entertainment but
also, as indicated by Vyacheslav Mizin in the introduction, for
divination purposes. The photo next page shows one such game
board excavated in Zimbabwe dating to 1700 CE. “Game boards”
most likely will have two or more rows of cups aligned for playing or
for divination purposes.
27
Burgess, Colin. The Age of Stonehenge. Edison: Castle Books 2003,
348
28
Willcox, A. R. The Rock Art of Africa. New York: Holmes& Meier 1984,
42
34
Mankala board Zimbabwe 1700 CE.
Wim van Binsbergen in his excellent summary of ancient cup-

marked stone from the Neolithic wrote:
“Among Upper Palaeolithic and later rock art, cupmarks occur

perhaps as frequently as grid marks. The oldest evidence
meanwhile is from a Neanderthal (Moustérien) grave at La
Ferrassie (Dordogne, France), c. 35,000 BP, where in a stone
covering a body, and remarkably facing down to the earth and the
dead, a number of cupmarks was discovered.
“A ritual use is often attributed to them, in the way of offerings,

libation or anointment. They may occur singly or in groups,
sometimes in aligned groups reminiscent of certified mankala
boards.
35
Cup and ring petroglyph at the 'Laxe das Rodas' ('Stone of the Wheels'),
Louro, Galicia. Photo by Froaringus.
“Cupmarks are a regular feature in Neolithic and bronze age

ritual contexts, where they often appear on altars or ‘libation
stones’. A typical arrangement is that of a number (often seven) of
smaller holes arranged around one large central hole; it is found in
many parts the Eastern Mediterranean and West Asia over a period
of several millennia right into historic Ancient Greece, where it is
called kérnos. Some randomly chosen examples of this admittedly
heterogeneous class of objects include the offering table of Defdji or
Djefda, Egypt, Old Kingdom; a four-legged granary-shaped
composite vase consisting of seven smaller basins and one larger
basin, from Melos, Cyclades, c. 2000 BCE; the altar with seven
rectangular holes on the sit shamshi bronze model of a morning
ritual, Elam, c. 1125 BCE.55 As far as I am aware, examples of this
genre are not conspicuous in Ancient Mesopotamia proper, but Sir
Leonard Woolley’s cupmarked bricks, for which Murray could not
think of any use other than as game-boards, might have been
mass-produced ‘libation stones’ as well. The number of minor holes
may be considerably larger, like that on the Mallia libation stone
36
disk (Ø 90 cm), which has 33 small holes and one larger hole
around the rim, with in the centre a large hole surrounded by a
concentric groove. To these examples many more could be added.
Ceremonial cosmetic ‘palettes’, with their characteristic central
cupmark, are likely to be related to this overall class of objects.
Photo showing the initial circular pecking to produce a cup-mark at

Chaw’se. Perhaps this would have eventually produced a cup and ring.
Photo by Gary R. Varner.
“No doubt a variety of ritual functions can be attributed to these

various vessels, and it would be rash to claim that over such a vast
area and long period the same idea would have underlain the use
of such lapidary vessels with multiple cupmarks — unless in a very
general and vague sense. All the same, this material indicates that
throughout the region where the earliest so-called ‘mankala boards’
were excavated, ritual vessels existed displaying an orderly array of
identical holes capable of containing liquids, a function later partly
37
diversified (for instance in the Greek case) into the carrying of
granulated solids, e.g. as first fruit offerings.” 29
Others believe that these cup and ring motifs are related to the
Sun-Cult. In being so, they usually convey the story of the
resurrected sun, of which in personification, represents the Sun-
God Tascio, astride his Sun-Horse: a precursor to our modern
version of St George.
A similar stone carving to the one shown on the previous page

(see photo below) was found in northwest Tasmania with others of
a like design located a few miles south at Green’s Creek in 1833 by
G. A. Robinson.
Photo from The Prehistory of Australia by D.J. Mulvaney.
29
van Binsbergen, Wim. “Board-games and divination in global cultural
history a theoretical, comparative and historical perspective on mankala
and geomancy in Africa and Asia”
http://www.shikanda.net/ancient_models/gen3/mankala/mankala2.htm
accessed 10/13/12
38
Cup and ring carving on side of rock slab, Red Rock Canyon, Nevada.
Near this cup and ring carving two deep pits were found still
showing the carvers marks.
39
Archaeologist Campbell Grant wrote, “in many parts of the West
isolated boulders are covered with the distinctive pit-and-groove
markings. Such carved boulders are especially abundant in
northern California, and in the Pomo territory were known as ‘baby
rocks’ and were used ceremonially by women wanting children.” 30
McGowan notes that these rocks in the Pomo territory were

frequented by childless couples that would “grind off a bit of the
rock in one of the cupules and make a paste of the dust. A design
was drawn on the abdomen of the woman and some of the paste
inserted into her vagina. Intercourse at this time ensured that she
would become pregnant.” 31
Cup and rings at Chaw’se, California. Photo by Gary R. Varner.
30
Grant, Campbell. Rock Art of the American Indian. New York:
Promontory Press 1967, 31
31
McGowan, Charlotte. Ceremonial Fertility Sites in Southern California:
San Diego Museum of Man Papers, No. 14. San Diego: San Diego
Museum of Man 1982, 14
40
"Rain rocks" were utilized by shamans as tools to control rain
and weather. Rain rocks in Northern California were inscribed with
meandering lines, grooves, cupules and carvings of bear claws and
paw prints.
The Shasta Indians in the Klamath River area carved long

parallel grooves on rain rocks to make the snow fall, and cupolas to
produce rain. To stop rain they covered the rain rock with powdered
incense-root. According to rock art researcher Campbell Grant the
Hupa Indians of California “had a sacred rain rock called mi. By this
rock lived a spirit who could bring frost, prolong the rainy season, or
cause drought if he was displeased.” 32 The Hupa would cook food
next to the rain rock and provide a feast for the spirit to ensure that
the spirit would continue to help them. “If the end of a rainy spell
was needed”, continues Grant, “powdered incense-root was
sprinkled on the rock.” 33 Rain rocks were fairly universal among
early cultures. In Australia’s Northern Territory it was “essential” for
certain types of rocks to be scratched to ensure rain. 34 Although
rarely found in Southern California, a five foot rain rock marked with
hundreds of small, drilled holes was located on the slopes of
Palomar Mountain in northern San Diego County. The site was
originally a proto-historic Luiseño village called Molpa. 35 Just below
the rain rock is a small spring, which was a steady source of water.
Because the decoration or alteration of rock material is difficult to
date we do not know when the use of “rain rocks” began. We do
know that the Tolowa, Karok and Hupa tribes on the North Coast of
California used rain rocks predominantly to control the weather at
least from 1600 CE and the practice continued into the early 1800’s
and may in fact continue today.
“Weather management” was also utilized by the Diegueño

Indians of Southern California who would sing to a special stone as
32
Grant, op cit., 31
33
Ibid.
34
Mulvaney, D.J. The Prehistory of Australia. New York: Frederick A.
Praeger Publishers 1969, 172
35
True, D.L. et al Archaeological Investigations ay Molpa, San Diego
County, California. University of California Publications in Anthropology,
Volume II. Berkeley: University of California Press 1974
41
holes were being created in it. The ceremony itself is no longer
remembered (it had faded from memory by 1908 when it was
written of by Constance Goddard DuBois), however the stone was
given a name and was often beseeched to end rain and to bring fair
weather. According to DuBois “Awikunchi is the name of a certain
rock in the middle of which there has been carved the figure of a
tiny coiled snake. When a man makes a hole in this rock it will grow
together again…” 36
The use of special stones to create rain appears to be a fairly

universal one. Rain-stones were used by the Samoan Islanders,
Australian aborigines, by people in Central Africa, Japan, and Great
Britain, as well as North America. In most cases these stones were
dipped into or sprinkled with water by priests or shamans and
treated to elaborate rituals. Sir James Frazer wrote that in North-
western Australia “the rain-maker repairs to a piece of ground which
is set apart for the purpose of rain-making. There he builds a heap
of stones or sand, places on the top of it his magic stone, and walks
or dances round the pile chanting his incantations for hours, till
sheer exhaustion obliges him to desist, when his place is taken by
an assistant. Water is sprinkled on the stone and huge fires are
kindled. No layman may approach the sacred spot while the mystic
ceremony is being performed.” 37 In North America the Apache
Indians in Arizona would carry water from specific springs and
throw it on the top of a certain rock “after that”, Frazer continues,
“they imagine that the clouds would soon gather, and that rain
would begin to fall.” 38 Similar rain-stones were used during times of
draught in ancient Rome as well.
The stone called lapis manalis was kept near the Temple of
Mars and “dragged into Rome, and this was supposed to bring
down rain immediately.” 39 Just what is the power in these stones
that is believed to cause rain? In most instances the stone contains
36
DuBois, Constance Goddard. “Ceremonies and Traditions of the
Diegueño Indians” in Journal of American Folklore, 21,1908, 231
37
Frazer, Sir James. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion.
Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Ltd., 1993, 76
38
Ibid.
39
Ibid., 78
42
the spirit of divinity or acts as a conduit to the divine to plead for
rain.
Vyacheslav Mizin has extensively researched ancient dolmen

and other archaeological sites in northwest Russia and other
locations in Eastern Europe. Vyacheslav wrote of a “rain rock”
(photo below) comprised of a cup-marked stone located on the river
Ojat, 300km east of St. Petersburg. “The name of this stone –
‘Humbarkivi’ means ‘a stone with a deepening for washing.’’
Vyacheslav states “We were there in 2009 with two Estonian
ethnographers from university of Tartu. Local residents speak that
when a person goes to this stone always the rain begins – and this
has occurred! The rain has sharply begun and also has sharply
ended when we go away from the stone.”40
‘Humbarkivi’ stone. Photo by Vyacheslav Mizin.
40
Mizin, Vyacheslav. Personal communication. March 12, 2012
43
Maidu “water rock”. Note the water ripples carved into the rock surface.
A similar stone situated on the Izhorian plateau (St. Petersburg

region) with a natural big cup-shape depression is located on the
site formerly occupied by a chapel. (see photo below) Mizin, who
investigated the stone noted that in the depression was water and
near the stone were found coins from the 16th and 17th century,
most likely left as offerings.
44
This stone has a natural bowl depression and is situated on the location of
a destroyed ancient chapel. (Izhorian Plateau, St. Petersburg region, NW
Russia). Photo by Vyacheslav Mizin, 2009.
Cursing stones of a different form were used until recent times

in Ireland. Individuals would place smooth stones in the cup-marks
anciently carved in boulder surfaces and turn the smooth stones
three times against the sun thus ensuring that the curse would be
effective. Evans wrote, “I was told of the example illustrated at
Killinagh in Co. Cavan, that ‘you would think twice before turning
the stones, because the curse would come back on you unless the
cause was just’”. 41
Some stones are similarly marked with pits—not cups.

Biedermann wrote that these pitted stones may symbolize the
womb, for example “in ancient China…those who wished to have
children tossed pebbles at the surface of such stones. If they
41
Evans, E. Estyn. Irish Folkways. Mineola: Dover Publications Inc. 1957,
300
45
remained in the indentations, the pebble thrower understood that
the wish would be fulfilled.”
Pitted stones also were pounded on by women in England to

create wind to assist fishing boats sail. The pits were believed to be
orifices from which the wind emanated.
Pitted stone at Chaw’se. Photo by Gary R. Varner.
Cup-marked stones were also used to create and direct wind.

According to Nigel Pennick “supplicants placed offerings on the side
from which the wind was required. Because the cupped surface…is
a little artificial cave reflecting the dome of the heavens, it is a
microcosm of the rising of the winds. By making an offering one
could invoke the ruling wind-spirit dwelling in that quarter.”42
42
Pennick, Nigel. Celtic Sacred Landscapes. Thames and Hudson
1996,42
46
In 1899 Rev. J.B. Mackenzie recorded other wind realted
folklore concerning cup-marked stones in Scotland. One of these
stones was near Scallasaig in Colonsay. “The tradition with regard
to it is,” wrote Mackenzie “that by means of it the chief of the
McPhees could get south wind when he chose, Hence it was called
‘Tobar na gaoith deas’ (the well of the south wind.’)” A nearby stone
of the basin type owned by the chief of M’Mhurich (Currie) could
“get any wind he liked. The basin was called ‘Cuidh Chattain.’ It is
quite a mistake to say…that any Currie could operate the well. It
was only ‘fear an tom deis’ himself who could do it. He could get
the wind to blow from any quarter he wished, by the simple
expedient of clearing out any rubbish which it might contain on to
the side from which the wind was desired. It was sure to come and
blow it back again into the basin.”
Rev. Mackenzie noted “I am persuaded it was not any

accidental rubbish which was cleared out, but (with undoubtedly
certain appropriate ceremonies) the offering of food to the
supernatural powers, which has been left in the basin…” 43
Nigel Pennick noted “Supplicants placed offerings on the side

from which the wind was required. ..By making an offering, one
could invoke the ruling wind-spirit dwelling in that quarter.” 44
Others used the pits as “sacrificial” stones pouring milk into the
pits as offerings to gods and the spirit world. Biedermann cautions
however that “the stones may have come into being in different
ways in different locations, independent of all historical connections
and influences.”45 In addition the theory that the cup-marks are star
and constellation maps has been suggested for pitted stones as
well although there is little evidence for it.
43
Mackenzie, Rev. J.B. Notes on some cup marked stones and rocks
near Kenmore, and their folklore. Proceedings of the Society of
Antiquarians of Scotland 1899-1900
44
Pennick, Nigel. Celtic Sacred Landscapes. Thames and Hudson 1996,
42
45
Biedermann, op cit, 328
47
Cup-marked stone with strange petroglyph in Krivko village (NW Russia,
St. Petersburg region) Image by artist Vladimir Zernov, 2009
48
Purpose and Functionality
The following are some of the possible functions that have been
suggested for the ancient cup-marked stones. Due to the
widespread distribution of these stones throughout geographical
ranges as well as through spans of time these functions may apply
to all or a very few of the sites discussed in this book.
Offering stones and ancestor worship
Various theories pertaining to the purpose and functionality of

cup-marked stones have been advanced through the years
including the marking of births in a society to the marking of each
new death. In California these stones were called “death stones”
and many of these were also said to make a ringing sound when
struck. Among the Dakota tribes these stones were also linked to
the belief in rebirth and the transmigration of souls.
The link to the dead is illustrated also in Swedish folklore which

refers to cup-marked stones as “elfstenar.” Elfs are believed to be
the souls of the dead who frequent, if not live in or below the
stones. The cups are often used for offerings to ensure that the elfs
are not offended or their peace disturbed.
The continuation of ancient rituals was described by Rau

concerning an elfstenar which was transferred from its original
position in Sweden to a private park. The owner “found a few days
afterward small sacrificial gifts lying in the cups.” Some of these
gifts were rag-dolls left by women who wished to become
pregnant.” 46
One cup-marked stone on Seil island, a small island on the east

side of the Firth of Lorn, 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Oban, in
Scotland, has been used into contemporary times to appease the
“wee folk”. Each spring the cup is filled with milk in the belief that if it
46
Rau, Charles. “Observations on Cup-Shaped and Other Lapidarian
Sculptures in the Old World and America” in Contributions to North
American Ethnology, Vol. 5 Washington 1882, 86
49
wasn’t, the Little People would ensure that the cows did not
produce any milk in the summer. This practice apparently was
common in several areas of the island.
In Finland these “sacrificial stones” were used to pour the first

cows milk or first grain harvested as an offering to the spirits living
in the stone.
In 1996 an archaeological excavation at Witton Gilberrt near

Durham City in the UK uncovered a “cist burial” (stone-lined
chambers used to house bones and cremations.) One of these cists
was covered by a slab of sandstone which was decorated on one
side with cups and rings and on the other with only cups. Nearby
are several other burials. According to Durham University the slab
dates to the Early Bronze Age (2300 BCE to 1500BCE). This is
direct evidence of a link between cup-marked stones and
burial/cremations.
Witton Gilbert cist burial capstone. Photo Durham University.
The current theory is that cup-marked stones resulted from the

introduction of farming in Europe and the UK and may have been
part of fertility rites and sacrificial offerings to the dead as a part of
ancestor worship. In Europe they are often associated with burials.
50
A large number of ancient cup-marked stone sites in the UK are
associated with cremations, tombs and burials. Among the sites
are:
• Barbrook II Stone Ring, Derbyshire – cairn with cup-

marked kerbstone, cremations with evidence of a ritual
fire and a stone cist with a cup-marked capstone. (Early
Bronze Age)
• Loanhead of Daviot, Aberdeenshire – stone circle with

an enclosed cremation cemetery and evidence of a
funeral pyre as well as elaborate rituals.
A stone to the east flanker of the circle contains 12 cup-
marks on its inner face which align with the midwinter
sunrise as well as possibly the major southern moonset.
(Neolithic to Middle Bronze Age)
• Sunhoney, Aberdeenshire – large 83 foot diameter stone

circle on a shallow hill with a fallen upright which is
adorned with 31 cups on the eastern half of the slab.
Astronomically situated to the location where the
southern moon at its minor setting would descend.
Nearby are eight deposits of cremated remains, a cist
and fire-marked stones.
• Monzie, Perthshire, near Monzie Castle – stone circle

consisting of ten uprights with a possible 15 existing at
one time. An elaborately carved stone to the southwest
is covered with 46 cups, cup and rings and other
images. A cist with the cremated remains of an adult and
six-year old child have been located near the center of
the circle. Evidence of extensive burning found. (Early
Iron Age or older)
The illustration below shows a drawing completed in 1882 of the

stone and its carvings.
51
Drawing from J. Romilly Allen, “Notes on some Undescribed Stones with
Cup Markings in Scotland,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries
Scotland, volume 16, 1882.
The Monzie stone was found to be connected to the circle by a

causeway (3.4m long by 1.0m wide) of stone cobbles.
• Llanerch Farm, Powys – A boulder with 32 cup-marks

reportedly marking the graves of four kings killed in
battle. Folklore says that when the kings hear church
bells they walk down to Hindwell Pool, ½ mile to the east
to drink.
• Castledamph, County Tyrone — A small cist with the

cremated remains of an 18 year old uncovered in the
center of a small stone circle. The cist evidently was
covered with a cup-marked slab which was found
nearby.
52
• Bohonagh, County Cork – Nine yards to the south of a
stone circle originally comprised of 13 standing stones a
boulder-burial was found with a 20 ton capstone. On the
surface of the capstone 7 ancient cup-marks have been
detected. This site may also have astronomical
alignments with the equinoctial sunsets. A nearby loose
slab also features cup-marks. The complex, which
included a wooden house (which had been excavated) is
of Bronze Age date.
• Dromberg, County Cork – Also known as the “Druid’s

Altar,” this impressive stone circle also has a 3 foot high,
seven foot long stone which, on its flat surface, has a
cup which had been carved into an axe-carving. A
second cup is located a short distance away. Again this
stone monument is aligned astronomically with the
winter solstice sunset. (date approx. 790 BCE +-80)
These few cup-marked stones are significant among the very

many archaeological sites in the United Kingdom due to the
evidence of ritual, cremation and burial as well as to the many
astronomical alignments. While researchers certainly cannot
discern the rational for their creation which fits all locations or
cultures, here at least it appears that, at least in Great Britain, they
were an important part of death rituals and graveyard symbolism.
The astronomical alignments most likely were also part of the rituals
connects with the departure of the spirit after death perhaps as a
guide to the afterlife.
Similarly, certain cup-marked stones in Estonia were believed to

be passages through which the dead souls entered the other world.
This notion, as has been previously mentioned, was also one held
by Native American people.
In Estonia as well “offering stones” were used to mark the

passing of people. According to Tvauri, “a close relative of each
53
dead person had an obligation to bore a hole in the offering
stone.”47
This theory does not hold in Finland however where cup-marked

stones “are sometimes situated very far from settlements and burial
places.” 48
Many cup-marked stones have been located near ancient

Bronze Age barrows but the significance is not certain as just as
many have been located in areas utilized by ancient people for
living, religious purposes and defense.
In Southwestern Siberia large blocks on cu-marked stones are

associated with burials form the Karakol culture dating to the
Bronze Age (2,000 BCE). Reportedly earlier rock art was applied to
these blocks at the time of burial. 49
Stone slabs in Ethiopia also were often erected as gravestones

or memorials to acknowledge the skills and bravery of hunters. At
times these stones also incorporate cup-marks in the design. The
stones shown below appears old but most likely it represents an
ancient tradition still thriving in Ethiopia.
The following photographs shows intricately carved stele from

Silté, southern Ethiopia. The second photo has two rows of cup-
marks thought to have been added after the stone was completed
and raised. This stone dates to the megalithic period.
47
October 1999. Tartu: Institute of the Estonian Language, 143
48
Ibid, 158
49
Mizin, Vyacheslav. Personnel communication 8/19/12.
54
Photo Azais, Musée de l’Homme, Palais de Chaillot, Place de Trocadero,
Paris. Kammerer 1926.
55
Photo Azais, Musée de l’Homme, Palais de Chaillot, Place de Trocadero,
Paris. Kammerer 1926.
These cupmarked stones obviously illustrate the linkage with

the cult of the dead and ancestor worship.
Rau wrote that in India stone circles similar to those of Great

Britain were commonly found in the district of Nagpoor with a large
number located near the village of Junapani.
“The tumuli forming these groups,” Rau noted, “are all of the
same type, consisting of circular mounds of earth, at present not
exceeding four feet in height, and the circles surrounding them,
from twenty to fifty-six feet in diameter, and constructed of trap
56
boulders…Each circle contains a few stones larger than the rest
and comparatively regular in shape, perhaps in consequence of
artificial modification; and such stones are distinguished by the
peculiarity that their upper surfaces or sides exhibit cup-cuttings,
differing in size, and mostly arranged in regular groups formed by
parallel lines or other nearly symmetrical dispositions…” 50
These mounds, upon excavation, contained urns, bones, iron

tools and weapons and jewelry.
Chandeshwar rock, India, from Rau 1882.
50
Rau, op cit, 32
57
Rau also described another ancient site about 2-3 miles south
of Dwara-Hath which was located a temple and a large stone,
called the Chandeshwar rock. (see photo, previous page) The
stone, angled at 45 degrees, presented “a surface upon which, is a
space measuring fourteen feet in height by twelve in breadth, more
than two hundred cups…and are arranged in groups composed of
approximately parallel rows…”51
The local villagers stated that the site was so old that they had
no knowledge of who had made the cups “but they were most
probably the work of the giants or the herdsmen in days gone by.”52
Fertility
One exceptional cup-marked stone which has ties to pre-

Christian fertility rites is one called the Tree of Life Stone which
overlooks the Washburn Valley near Otley, North Yorkshire.
Referred to as “the finest cup-and ring marked stone in the area” 53
the Tree of Life stone is a large sandstone boulder decorated with
twenty-two cup-marks, seven which are encircled by double rings
and individually connected by a large single groove to a large
central groove which forms a tree-shaped image. Nearby is a linear
cairn. While the nearby cairn would indicate a death connection,
E.T. Cowling wrote in his 1946 book Rombalds Way that this stone
“is one of the few known to local inhabitants, and marks the site of
many May Day religious services.” While it may have served as a
location for Christian religious services it is by no means a Christian
symbol but rather an ancient pre-Christian pagan symbol of fertility
in people, animals and nature. As one researcher wrote, ”The tree
like arrangement of cups and channels on the Tree of Life stone
may have made it a suitable focus for such customs and in the
process led to the naming of the stone.”54
51
Ibid, 33
52
Ibid.
53
Nidderdale AONB, North Yorkshire: Archaeological Survey August
2000, 15
54
http://www.cupstones.f9.co.uk/lore1.htm
58
Drawing of the Tree of Life Cup-Marked Stone, North Yorkshire, England.
59
The photograph below shows the Tree of Life stone in its natural
environment on the moor.
Prehistoric cup marked rock carving (possibly Bronze Age). Despite the
stone's “Tree of Life” name, it is not known whether the carving was
intended to depict a tree. © Copyright David Spencer and licensed for
reuse under this Creative Commons License
One of the hundreds of petroglyphs at the Chaw’se site in

California appears a very faint fish. Many of the rock art figures at
Chaw’se are so old they are rapidly disappearing due to exposure
to the elements. Along with the vulva carving the fish would
certainly indicate sympathetic magic at work with both human
fertility and also the wish for abundant fishing associated with these
cupules.
60
Fish petroglyph at Chaw ‘se. Photo by Gary R. Varner.
At certain rock art sites in Hawaii boulders with cup and ring
markings were used, according to ethnographic accounts, as
depositories for the umbilical cords of newborn children. Perhaps
one way to ensure fertility through the offering of the umbilical
cords.
The use of cup-marks in agricultural-fertility rituals in Estonia

and elsewhere is one possibility according to Tvauri who wrote “The
making of cup-marks in stones and rocks might have served as a
magic fertility ritual related to agriculture. As the effect of the magic
was generally directed to future, we might assume that making a
cup-mark was connected to sowing. Only one cup-mark was made
at a time.” He continues to say “we have no reason to believe that
once the cup-mark had been made, it had any magic or ritual
relevance later.”55
55
61
The majority of cup-marked stones in Estonia with 100 or more
cups were evidently exclusively found in the North Estonia coastal
region which was the earliest agricultural region of the area in the
Bronze Age. This would tie in to the theory of a magic fertility
association of cup-marks with agriculture.
Healing and Water Associations
As previously noted many cup-marked stones appear to have

some significant link to water cults and archaeologists in England
have found “the positioning suggests that mobile patterns of
exploitation were practiced, as rock art is frequently positioned in
areas which act as vantage points over grazing land, trails, springs
and water-holes.” 56
Other possible functions of cup-marked stones, as previously

mentioned, is the production of small bits of stone or grit which was
collected from the subs and ingested by women who believed that
the substance would help them become pregnant. “This well
documented medical and cultural phenomenon,” wrote
anthropologist Kevin Callahan, “has a direct connection, according
to ethnohistoric sources, to the production pf some rock art on a
global basis, in particular the production of some cupmarks or
cupules, occasionally referred to in North American archaeological
literature as ‘pits.’” 57
Historical accounts from the 19th century record individuals

grinding cups in the walls of ecclesiastical buildings to produce
powder that was ingested in the belief that it would “charm away the
fever.”58 This activity was observed in France, Germany and
Scandinavia.
56
2000, 14
57
Callahan, Kevin L. “Ethnographic Analogy and the Folklore of Cup and
Ring Rock Art.” 2000 http://www.tc.umn.edu/~call0031/folklore.html
accessed 8/23/12.
58
Rau, op cit.
62
The illustration below shows a wall located at a German church
which has been ground down in various places to produce powder
thought to have curative properties. According to 19th century
researcher Charles Rau, these cup-marks “are usually, though not
always, found on the southern side of the churches, near an
entrance, and, as a rule, placed within the reach of a man’s arm.” In
addition he wrote, “It appears more than probable that the practice
of thus marking the outside of these buildings indicates the
continuation of a pagan custom though in these cases the cups
may not have the significance of those seen on boulders and
megalithic monuments. ..The motives which induced people in
comparatively modern times to mark churches with cups and
furrows are not yet known…The cups on churches in Germany
seem to have been thought to possess healing qualities. Fever-sick
people blew, as it were, the disease into the cavities. According to
other accounts the patients swallowed the powder produced in
grinding out the cups. The latter practice has not yet become
obsolete in France.”59
Cups and furrows on the wall of St. Mary’s Church, at Greifswald,

Pomerania. From Observations on Cup-Shaped and Other Lapidarian
Sculptures in the Old World and in America by Charles Rau, 1882.
59
Rau, Charles. Observations on Cup-Shaped and Other Lapidarian
Sculptures in the Old World and in America, in Contributions to North
American Ethnology, Vol V. Washington: Government Printing Office
1882, 88
63
This is a sound theory in some aspects but it is unlikely that
hundreds of cup-marks would be produced in one site for this very
specific purpose. It is more plausible that one or two special stones
were used for this by Native American groups rather than large
bedrocks with hundreds of cup-marks.
One rather remarkable cup-marked stone is located at Blood

Run, Iowa. This particular stone is situated near a natural stone as
well as many burial mounds and is absolutely covered in cups.
Prevailing thought is that the Blood Run stone was used to produce
kaolin, which is the active ingredient in Kaopectate. Kaolin has also
been proven to cure amoebic dysentery.60 In addition the stone can
be ground into a fine ingestable power which is similar in
appearances to talcum powder and is an excellent wound care
product. In the past Native American women would include this
powder in their diets to enhance fertility.
The Blood Run stone and others in the American Mid-West are,
according to Callahan “rather predictably composed of granite next
to a large chunk of quartz and are typically situated near natural
springs and below hills with burial mounds.” In fact there are 275
circular burial mounds at Blood Run, 68 of which are still intact. He
goes on to say “the ethnohistoric accounts of the Dakota clearly
indicate that to the Dakota boulders were not considered inanimate
objects but were the occasional dwelling place of spirits…” 61 Again
we have a link to the dead, flowing water and the spiritual world.
Thousands of miles and years away many of the ancient

buildings in Malta are covered as the Blood Run stone is in
hundreds of pits. Many of these pitted, or “drilled” stones appear to
have been decorative but strangely enough some of the blocks only
have them on the reverse resulting in “concealed” decorations. As
McMann points out “On the backs of inaccessible kerb-stones and
orthostats in Irish passage graves, and inside cist covers in
60
Callahan, Kevin L. ‘Cupmarks, Kaolin, and Native American Medicine”
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~call0031/kaolin.html accessed 8/22/12
61
Callahan, Kevin L. “Ethnographic Analogy and the Folklore of Cup and
Ring Rock Art”, np. 2000, 19 http://www.tc.umn.edu/~call0031/folklore.html
accessed 8/23/2012
64
Germany and Great Britain, there are symbols only the ghosts
could see.” 62
Blood Run, Iowa cup-mark stone. Photo by Kevin L. Callahan.
There is much in the way of anecdotal evidence suggesting that

cup-marks were regarded as holy and medicinal. The water which
would naturally collect in the cups was dispensed and consumed as
medicinal in nature. One cup-marked stone near Arisaig in
62
Europe. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1980,121
65
Yorkshire has eight cup-marks on its surface and folk-legend states
“that an apprentice blacksmith could gain additional skill and
strength in the craft by washing his hand in the water collected in
the largest cupmark/basin on the stone. This act was to be
performed at sunrise on the first of May.”
Similar folklore speaking of the curative properties of water is

found around the world. Water that collects in cup-marked stones is
particularly potent. In Ireland and England water collected in large
basin stones is believed to cure infertility as well as rheumatism,
warts and sore eyes. Many of the cures long touted at holy wells
are also reported about cup-marked stones or basins. Eye ailments
in particular continue to be treated with this water through
transference methods. Those suffering from eye disease are
supposed to rub the affected eye with a coin dipped in the water
and then the coin is left on the stone where the disease remains
behind. This tradition is especially strong in Estonia but also exists
in other parts of the world.
Nigel Pennick wrote of a stone basin called “The Devils Well”

near Llanfihangel-y-Pennant “with no obvious supply of water,
which nevertheless is always full.” Pennick noted that “the water is
empowered by the virtues of the rock and the place.” 63
Cursing Stones
As there are cursing wells so are there cursing stones.

According to Evan Hadingham, “At the monastic sites of Iona and
Inishmurray, cursing stones lay on the pedestals of crosses and on
the tops of altars. These were turned three times in honour of the
sun, in the direction of its course across the sky, and the end of the
world would not come until the supporting stones were worn
through. Interestingly enough, among the numerous stones placed
on one of the Inishmurray altars was a cup-and-ring slab with a
double circle and keyhole carving…It may well be that the practice
of creating these basins is remotely derived from the cup-markings
63
Pennick, Nigel. Celtic Sacred Landscapes. Thames and Hudson 1996,
42
66
of prehistoric times, although the beliefs and legends associated
with them are probably not as ancient.” 64
The curse was affected when the stone was turned while
uttering the curse. The church seemed to have contrary beliefs
concerning these stones as the same stones were occasionally
used as baptismal fonts.
Maps, Archaeoastronomy and Location Devices
As previously described in some instances cup-marks appear to

be star or constellation maps or align cup-marked stones to
astronomical events such the solstices and equinoxes. British
historian Ronald Hutton, however, argues “their position is never
consistent …with features in the sky” and while “suns, moons and
eyes are obvious interpretations, and often made…the context
never allows us to make any firm association in any one case.” 65
However, as the illustration shown below indicates some cup-
marked stones show a perfect representation of constellations.
Another cup-marked stone on the Kuban River in the North

Caucasus region of Russia appears to have the constellation of
Pisces formed by the depressions. Similar stones in other areas of
the same Russian region also depict the constellation of Pisces. In
Eastern Russia several other constellations (Pleiades, Ursa Major,
Bootes, Cancer and Cygnus) have been seen in cup-marked
stones. Reportedly Russian astronomers A.G. Sukhanov and V.A
Lukashenko were the first researchers in this area of the world to
discover this archaeoastronomy link with the cup-marked stones.
64
Hadingham, E. Ancient Carvings in Britain: A Mystery. London: The
Garnstone Press Ltd., 1974, 95-96
65
Hutton, Ronald. The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles.
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1993, 104
67
“She-Bear” cup-marked stone (in Russian: “Kamen’-Medveditca”) with
cup-marks, arranged the shape of the constellation Ursa Major. (NW
Russia, Novgorod region) Image by artist Darya Kurdukova, 2012
Similar to the “She Bear” stone is a cup-marked stone found at

Harper Flat in the Anza Borrego Desert of San Diego County,
California. As seen in the photo below, the cupules are an obvious
representation of Ursa Major. The archaeologist that found this
stone simply noticed the “random placement” of the cupules and did
not notice the astronomical relationship of them—an unfortunate but
all too common practice among main stream archaeologists.
68
Photo from Hedges 1973.
In Southern California cupule sites “occur in direct association

with camp and village sites, and at least two San Diego County
sites have cupules in direct association with pictographs.” 66
In the Great Basin pitted boulders have been used from

approximately 5,000 BCE into historic times although many appear
to have created within the last 500 years.
66
Hedges, Ken. “Rock Art in Southern California” in Pacific Coast
Archaeological Society Quarterly, Vol. 9, No 4 October 1973, pg 21.
69
Pitted boulder in Little Blair Valley, San Diego County with geometric
patterns just to the right in the shadowed areas. (From Hedges 1973)
Two additional cup-marked stones also in San Diego County,

near Santee, California, are within a quarter mile of each other and
are also located at major campsites. 67 One of these boulders has
60 to 100 cupules and the other twenty-seven.
Why are these sites located near major camp and village sites
while others aren’t? Perhaps due to their use as ritual items,
pigmentation preparation sites and the other ethnographically
recorded uses such as puberty ceremonial sites, the use by women
wishing for pregnancy and as rain producers.
67
Fink, Gary. “Some Rock Art Sites in San Diego County” in Pacific Coast
Archaeological Society Quarterly, Vol. 15, No 2 April 1979, pg. 61
70
Cup-marked stone at Santee, California. (From Fink 1979)
Similar to the Blood Run stone, the two stones from California
and those in Malta is the “pit and groove” petroglyph below from
Green River Gorge, Utah. The almost identical stones beg to
question why did these stones occur so frequently across such a
wide geographic distribution.
Pit and groove petroglyph, Green River Gorge, Utah. Photo by F.A.
Barnes from Prehistoric Rock Art, Wasatch Publishers, Inc. 1982.
71
The pit and groove style is thought to be the oldest form of rock
art in western North America, minimally dating to 5,000 BCE.
One possible explanation is that these symbols represent a

“language of symbols”, which according to Jean McMann “may
have had similar although not identical meanings from culture to
culture.” 68 How such symbolism seemed to have suddenly replaced
the dominant naturalistic art of the Paleolithic and moved around
the world is subject for future study and debate.
The Mune-Stane is the name given to a stone which no longer

exists but which once stood in the Yorkshire parish of Cargill in
Moon-stone Butts field. Early recordings of this stone state that it
was covered in figures of the sun, moon and seven stars. These
figures are believed to have been cup and ring marks.
During the 19th century theories abounded as to the meaning of

these mysterious cups and one was that they were created by the
Romans and related to the worship of Mithras. Mithraism did value
“astrological theology” and it was believed that, at least in one
Northumberland complex, “the central cup signifies the sun, the
concentric circles, probably the orbits of the planets, and the radial
straight groove, the way through to the sun.” It was pointed out
however that many of these sculptures were created before the
Romans and also many appear in areas where Roman troops never
ventured. 69
An archaeological site in Tennessee known as the Moonshadow

site is a series of glyphs which consist of vertical pit and groove
forms which align with both solar and lunar alignments. According
to archaeologist Richard M. Mooney:
“It was initially observed that at the time of the winter solstice,
the sun one hour before sunset threw a shadow from the rock to the
68
69
Reader, A. Archaic Rock Inscriptions: An Account of the Cup & Ring
Markings on the Sculptured Stones of the Old and New Worlds. London:
n.p. 1891, 79.
72
panel face, progressively moving to the upper right and outlining
various features of the petroglyph along the way. The maker used
the shadow to guide his tool, but with a preconceived form in mind.
As further support for the alignment, a grouping of drilled holes
(each less than ¼ in in diameter) was noted to fall in the alignment
path of the tip of the rock shadow earlier in the day. Only on the
very few days of the winter standstill does the shadow fall to the
extreme left hole, as if to outline this small feature with the tip of the
shadow. The intent could be no clearer: to mark the southernmost
movement of the sun, then to form/outline portions of the petroglyph
shortly afterward.”70
Noting that the Moonshadow site was one of only two known
lunar alignment petroglyphs in North America, the other at Chaco
Canyon, Mooney wrote “Both sites support strong evidence of
intentional, dual (solar and lunar) alignments…” requiring the need
for further ethnographic research.
It is also possible that these stones were not only star maps but
geographic markers, or maps, indicating water sources, village and
camp sites or hunting trails. Many cup stone sites are closely
associated with water, and “would have served as parts of a
cosmological understanding of the place within which they dwelt,
and would have provided markers by which they (Bronze Age man)
could move around the landscape.” 71
Timothy Pauketat described one stone map found at a place

called Thebes Gap near the ancient Mississippian mound complex
of Cahokia by Terry Norris, chief archaeologist of the US Army
Corps of Engineers, based in St. Louis, Missouri:
“On a sunny September morning in 2005, Norris returned to the

boulder-strewn site on the banks of the Mississippi. He …wondered
70
Mooney, Richard M. “Petroglyphs and Archaeoastronomy in Tennessee”
in Rock Art of the Eastern Woodlands – Proceedings from the Eastern
States Rock Art Conference. Ed. By Charles H. Faulkner. American Rock
Art Research Association Occasional Paper 2 1996
71
2000, 25
73
about an earlier identification of a large squiggly line on the rock as
a serpent. Archaeologist have long interpreted such lines as
representations of snakes or snake-like supernatural beings that
American Indians believed dwelled under the earth or in deep
water, but this one was not simply a coiled snake or a squiggly line
with two end points. Instead, this line cut across the entire rock,
bending from top to bottom. On either side were peck marks in
clusters, some closer than others and spaced as if to indicate
specific places east and west of the line. Some of the marks were
near or connected be secondary pecked lines that radiated to other
portions of the rock panel.
”Norris thought that the serpentine lines looked more like the
representation of a river that began in the north and curved
southeastward.” After tossing water on the stone, Norris saw that
the lines, glyphs and pecked marks “may be trails and town site
locations.” 72
Reportedly many Native American tribes used similar marking

posts to mark territorial boundaries and to warn trespassers. Others
have speculated that the cup-marked stones may have been maps
of forts and defensive sites although many seem to be associated
with burial locations as well.
Studies of cup-marked stones in Scotland have shown that

“there was a steady increase in the complexity of the rock
carvings—and more cup-and-ring marks—the higher the land they
were on. This was land that would have been used for seasonal
occupation by hunters, gatherers and herders.” 73 Evidently rock art
of a more simple construct were located on lower lying areas
occupied by farmers year round. The locations for these sites were
“clearly selected” and spaced along natural routes as trail markers.
It has also been pointed out that in Europe and Great Britain in
particular these marks are more commonly found on “natural rocks”
72
Pauketat, Timothy R. Cahokia: Ancient America’s Great City on the
Mississippi. New York: Viking Penguin Group 2009, 154
73
Devereux, Paul. The Sacred Place: The Ancient Origin of Holy and
Mystical Sites. London: Cassell & Co. 2000, 84
74
with very few appearing on standing stones fashioned by hand.74
Likewise representational carvings of axeheads are more often
found on standing stones than on natural outcroppings.
While some of these cup-marked stones may, in fact, represent

food or pigment preparation areas, if hammerstones or pestles were
not discovered nearby during archaeological surveys or excavations
such uses would tend to be miniscule if not non-existent and we are
left with non-utilitarian uses.
These cup-marked depressions were not easily made. Recent

replicative analysis indicates that the effort to produce one relatively
small cup requires approximately 9,000 hammer blows over a 70
minute duration.
Survivals of Pre-Christian Ritual
Several cup-marked stones in the United Kingdom and Eastern

Europe have associated lore which gives credence to the theory
that they have been used in pre-Christian times for certain rituals to
grant wishes, ensure fertility or to appease the “little folk.” One of
these is located in a church cemetery in Kilchoman, Scotland.
Reportedly at the foot of a Celtic cross 20 yards east of the church
4 cups, or basins up to 7 inches in diameter and 6 inches deep are
still used in an ancient ritual. During the ritual a pestle is turned
three revolutions in the cupule in the direction of the sun and a coin
is left in the basin in the belief that eye diseases would be cured. A
researcher discovered in 1968 that the basin was full of pennies at
the time and a church officer periodically collects the coins.
Likewise in Estonia “the local cup-marked stones have been

considered offering stones…sacrifice to stones was very common
in Estonia as late as the 19th century,” wrote Andres Tvauri. “Even
in the 1930s people took offerings to some stones in earnest belief.
74
While this is generally true, a standing stone complex known as the
Nether Largie Stones in Scotland has several monoliths with cup marks,
one in particular has over 40 cupules.
75
The offering gifts were left for fairies, but the stones have been
used for healing purposes.” 75
Fire, blood, meat, milk and grain were all objects left in the cups
as offerings and to ensure health. Many of the stones were marked
with carved crosses as well but there is no evidence that these
marks inferred Christian influence or if they pre-dated Christianity.
The photograph following shows another ancient stone cross in

northwest Russia which also has cups ground into its surface.
Reportedly persons continue to deposit coins in the cups on their
way to the nearby church.
Researcher Vyacheslav Mizin wrote to me of this interesting

stone cross:
“At the Kingisepp city, which is located to the west of St.

Petersburg (NW Russia), near the church there are several
medieval stone crosses. These crosses were brought to church
yard from the around villages during the Soviet period. These
crosses are made of limestone. On one of these crosses are few
deep cup marks were made. Worshipers coming to the church often
leave coins in the cups.
“On some other stone crosses at the Izhorian Plateau also are
cups and holes. In local folklore, there is no indication of their
meaning and use. Archaeologists think that these cups and holes
have natural origin, but in some cases it is not convincing. The
holes and cups are on stone crosses in the villages Yastrebino,
Beseda etc. In the north-west Russia stone crosses are dated to
12-15 centuries. Stone crosses with cups are also known in Poland
and eastern Germany.
“Perhaps the tradition of stone crosses with cups is the epitome

of more archaic notions about cup-marked stones. Can ancient
beliefs be adapted to the new Christian religious reality? Perhaps,
75
76
because the pagan ideas can find their new meaning as a Christian
symbol?”
Cup-marks on the medieval limestone cross in Kingissep town (NW

Russia) Photo by Vyacheslav Mizin, 2001
77
Small Cup-stones and Pitted Stones
Cup-stones, also referred to as "anvil stones," "pitted cobbles"
and "nutting stones," among other names are small version of the
cupules found on cup-marked stones. These roughly discoidal or
amorphous groundstone artifacts are among the most common
lithic remains of Native American culture, especially in the Midwest,
in Early Archaic contexts but they are also common in Japan.
There is wide disagreement among researchers as to the origin,

meaning and use of these artifacts. They have been considered as
domestic food and tool production tools, pigment preperation tools
and cult objects.
Cupstones may exhibit a mixture of large and small

indentations, perhaps indicating multiple uses over a considerable
span of time. Indentations range from barely visible 1/16" to 6".
Examination under magnification suggests the impressions were at
least in some cases formed by rotary grinding. Typical impressions
are of the simple pit type, though some cavities have been
excavated to produce an opened-sphere type of pocket, by means
and for reasons unknown. Very large specimens weighing several
tons and with dozens of impressions several inches across are
thought to be cult objects; they have been found throughout the
world and throughout Native American archaeological sites such as
Chaw’se in California. For the purposes of this book, these cup-
stones, however, are much smaller, portable strone objects which,
while they look like miniture cup-marked stones, possibly served a
different function.
The most likely interpretation seems that these artifacts

represent a single technique of shaping or adapting stone for
multiple purposes, some unguessed (for instance, the function of
the smallest pits) and that the objects could be used by single or
multiple individuals over long periods of time, and for various
purposes.
78
Small Cup-stone, approximately 6” across.
However, like the larger cup-marked stones it is likely that these

objects were used for a large variety of purposes, both of a socio-
religious nature and for utilitarian reasons—many of which we may
never understand.
The majority of these small cup-stones are found near steams

and rock-shelters, “suggesting a possible link to hunting, or with the
combined activities of a seasonal hunting/gathering camp” states
Adam Brooke Davis of Truman State University.76
Cup-stones found in one area near a petroglyph site in

Arkansas are believed to have been used to grind pigment for
coloring rock art. Other cupstones have also exhibited pigments.
76
Davis, Adam Brooke. “Cupstones of Adair County, MO”
http://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/cupstones.htm accessed 8/28/12
79
One other purpose may have been for fire-making, ie. acting as
an anchor for a wooden shaft which, while being rotated would
create friction on a wooden slab to start a fire. Some of these
stones do exhibit evidence of fire but this is only a matter of
conjecture.
That they were a common kitchen tool appears to be the current

theory among archaeologists. As indicated previously, a study
conducted on pitted stones excavated in San Luis Obispo county in
California divulged that many of them had shellfish residue
saturated in the stone. According to Breschini and Haversat 77 “For
whatever functionj they fulfilled on the Central California Coast,
pitted stones must have been an ‘ideal’ tool, as they have been
documented through virtually the entire span of human
occupation…Given the abundance of these artifacts, and their long
duration, it is also possible that they were used for several different
purposes associated with exploitation of marine resources.” Dating
back 4500 years, the San Luis Obispo site is the only one using
immunological analysis of artifacts to determine possible utillization.
Pitted Stones from San Luis Obispo, California. From Breschini &
Haversat.
77
Breschini, Gary S. and Trudy Haversat. Pitted Stones from CA-SLO-697
and CA-SLO-762, Cambria, San Luis Obispo County, California. California
Prehistory.com accessed 8/28/2012
80
Other pitted stones from California were excavated in 1959 from
a site referred to as the Scripps Estate Site located in western San
Diego County near the seaside town of La Jolla. Between 1958 and
1959 17 burials were excavated at this location both of adults and
children. Dating to 5460 and 7370 BCE this site is important not
only for its tool and artifact morphology but also for data recovered
concerning early California climate and cultural interactions.
The three pitted stones shown below were all fabricated from
cobbles of fine-grained arkosic sandstone, were all broken
transversely before, during or after fabrication and all showed signs
of being battered. Some believe that the depressions were made for
ease of use as a battering tool and acted as finger holds. 78
Pitted stones from the Scripps Estate Site.
It was a fairly common practice among Native Americans that

tools and other belongings of the deceased be broken to release
the “soul” of the tool to join that of the deceased in the afterlife. It
was in this way that belongings and tools could be used in the
afterlife and to prevent the soul of the deceased to return as a ghost
in search of his or her belongings. 79 The fact that all three of these
78
Shumway, George, Carl L. Hubbs & James Moriarty. “Scripps Estate
Site, San Diego, California: A La Jolla Site Dated 5460 to 7370 Years
Before the Present.” New York: Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, Vol. 93, Article 3, Pages 37-132, December 4, 1961
79
Varner, Gary R. Ghosts, Spirits & the Afterlife in Native American
Folklore and Religion. Raleigh: OakChylde Books/Lulu Press Inc. 2010,28
81
pitted stones, found in close proximity to each other, were broken
may indicate such a burial practice as well.
82
Alternative Views
We have proposed some possibilities in this book for the
purpose and function of cupules but there are so many possibilities-
-can they all be correct? No. In fact some cup-marked stones turn
out not to be human made but from natural geologic actions
including erosion. Robert G. Bednarik, in his excellent article
“Cupules,” put these theories in perspective:
“Star constellations, we can reasonably assume, are random

features, and it is then not surprising that they resemble other
random or fortuitous arrangements (indeed, I have witnessed an
advocate of this belief surveying a group of potholes for the purpose
of determining their astronomical meaning, unaware that they are
natural features). However, large groupings of cupules tend to be
cumulative, i.e. the marks constituting them were made singly and
at greatly diff erent times. That renders this explanation highly
unlikely, if not impossible. In all cases I am aware of, including the
sepulchral La Ferrassie block, the resemblance with star
constellations is only vague. For the vast majority of cupule
constellations, no corresponding star charts have been proposed,
and this notion appears to be without empirical basis as well as
being unfalsifiable. Moreover, the greater the number of cupules on
a single panel, the lesser the resemblance to any star pattern, so
when there are several hundred the weakness of the notion
becomes clear. But most importantly, it cannot be tested, it is
therefore not a scientific proposition.
“The explanation of random cupule groups as maps, popular in

the Alpine regions of Europe, falls into the same category. It is
untestable, has no ethnographic support, and is a priori unlikely
unless all cupules were made at the same time. It is also
reminiscent of other endeavours of seeking rock art explanations, in
which various patterns are thought to be pre-Historic maps,
apparently without justification. There is very limited evidence for
the ingestion of mineral dust but it is mentioned as a possibility (E.
Malotki, pers. comm.; cf. Callahan 2004).
83
“The notion of the use of cupules in board games is somewhat
more promising. Odak (1992) considers the possibility that cupule
patterns at two sites in southern Kenya represent boa game boards.
Pohle (2000: 199–202) discusses the conceivability of geometrically
arranged cupules having been used in the uluk and rama rildok
games of Nepal and accepts that many of the cupule arrangements
relate to the latt er game (Pohle 2000: Tafeln 1.1, 14–16, 18.1,
28.2). Rama rildok is a mancala game, which Bandini-König (1999)
also cites for cupules at Hodar, in the uppermost Indus valley, and
Fu (1989: 179) for Chinese sites. Cupules proposed to have been
used in board games occur typically in closely packed geometric
alignments, i.e. in multiple rows, and on horizontal rock panels.
Obviously the ethnographic foundation of this interpretation requires
further investigation, but it can be regarded as a possible
explanation in certain cases. Mancala (or mankala) games occur
widely in Africa and Asia (Murray 1952: 162) and seem to have an
ancient history (e.g. Robinson 1959: Pl. 27), apparently extending
back to the Neolithic in the Middle East (Rollefson 1992).” 80
This argument certainly has its merits. However it would seem

just as unlikely that the many thousands of cupules and cup-marked
stones are simply mass produced Neolithic board games.
There is some ethnographic evidence that cupules were made

by various Native American groups to mark their territory which
would fit nicely for those found near villages and campsites.
According to anthropologist Constance Goddard Dubois, writing of
the Luiseño Indians of Southern California, “when they got to a
place they would sing a song to make water come here, and would
call that place theirs; or, they would scoop out a hollow in a rock…to
have that as a mark for their claim upon the land. The different
parties of people had their own marks.” 81
80
Bednarik, R. G. “Cupules” in Rock Art Research 2008 - Volume 25,
Number 1, pp. 61-100
81
Dubois, Constance Goddard. “The Religion of the Luiseño Indians of
Southern California”, in University of California Publications in American
Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 8, No. 3, pgs 69-186
84
Archaeologists D. L. True and M. A. Baumhoff advocate caution
in assuming that any cup-marked stone in southern California be
viewed as territorial markers. In the first place, while they agree that
this marking system was used, “it is likely that any territory would
require more than one rock to define its boundaries” and, secondly,
“data indicate that markers were placed on top of larger rocks or
outcroppings somewhat like simple cairns.” 82 This is not to say, of
course, that other marker stones simply have not been recorded.
Cairn on Mt. Shasta, California. A possible territorial marker. Photo by

Gary R. Varner.
In addition it would appear that boundary markers were made

only once. “…it seems logical,” according to True and Baumhoff,
“that once a rock had been ‘scooped’ (or rather “cupped”) to form a
marker, there would be little point in repeatedly ‘scooping’ in the
same location, such as would be required to make a typical pitted
boulder feature.” 83
82
True, D.L. and M.A. Baumhoff. “Pitted Rock Petroglyphs in Southern
California” in Journal of California and Great Basin Archaeology, Vol. 3,
No. 2, 258
83
Ibid.
85
Pitted and cup-marked stones did figure into Native American
death lore however. Among the Cocopa, a tribe on the Colorado
River, the land of the dead, Keruk hap, was accessed through such
stones. According to William Kelly, “When the travelers reached
Keruk hap they stood in front of the door. They saw only the rock
with some marks pecked on it. Nothing else was on the outside
because everything was inside the rock…” 84
This concept of soul travel using pitted and cup-marked stones

is highly consistent among Native American tribes.
A pitted sandstone slab found on San Miguel Island off

California (photo above) occupied by the Chumash Indians is
certainly an anomaly. Covered in small, “circular pits” it may have
been used as an anvil for bead drilling. According to archaeologist
Charles Irwin, “Chumash craftsmen drilled holes using a wooden
shaft which was rotated against a stone slab…The action of drilling
discs against a slab would eventually create larger pits such as
84
Kelly, William H. “Cocopa Ethnography”, in University of Arizona
Anthropological Papers, No. 29, 1977, 127
86
those exhibited on this artifact as well as holding the disc in place
while being drilled.”85
A questions about this explanation remains, however. Why

would the need to make many identical pits be necessary? If one or
two work why 20-30? It is assumed that this was used by one
individual at a time so multiple pits would be unnecessary.
Other possibilities exist as well to explain the use of these

carvings. Jean McMann, in her excellent 1980 book Riddles of the
Stone Age, stated that the cup, ring and spiral symbols may have
been reserved for sacred purposes…”the arrangement of the
symbols. Random or clearly decorative and/or repeated as patterns,
implies that the carvings are ideograms, representing an evolution
from the simpler pictograms of Paleolithic cultures.” 86
We also cannot rule out that these cup marked stones, also
referred to as “pit and groove” were used as mortars; utilitarian tools
for grinding acorns and other food stuffs. However, most ancient
Native American utilitarian objects were not decorated. In addition
there are both archaeological and ethnographic evidence that
mortars used in ceremony and ritual were made from logs or other
organic materials representing the sacred earth. Many of those
discussed in this work do show decorative aspects or are
associated with nearby rock art. Obviously the cup and ring style
could not have been used to process pigment or food simply due to
the ring or spiral grooving. In addition many of the cups are located
in areas not conducive to grinding or food preparation such as
those found on the sides of standing stones, on cave roofs or under
dolmen capstones.
Obviously there is no one single reason for these artifacts but

each one may have served a multitude of purposes to a creative
85
Irwin, Charles N. “Problems in Chumash Technology and Interpretation
of Artefacts”, in Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly, Vol. 11,
No.2,April 1975, 16
86
87
people who developed crafts and tools which enabled them to
survive for thousands of years.
Cup-marks on an upright stone, Kisskinkyulya, Russia. Photo by

Vyacheslav Mizin, 2005.
88
Timeline: A Chronology of the Origin of
Cup-Marks
On September 8, 1993 archaeologist Ramesh Kumar Pancholi
was surveying an area in the Chambal Valley in India with a few
friends when he stumbled upon a number of cupules carved on a
stone surface near a local temple. He returned to the site on
October 2 to see if he could find more of these stone depressions.
During this reexamination he found many more in a sandstone cave
which he named “Daraki-Chattan, or “fractured rock.”
Two years later researcher Giriraj Kumar and his son thoroughly
investigated the cave and found an amazing 498 cupules on the
cave walls at a height of 3.5 meters from the cave floor. Dating
these stone carvings is very difficult and can only be done by
association with tools present and soil sediment. At this location
stone tools from the Acheulin and Middle Paleolithic periods were
found indicating a possible date of from 700,000 to 200,000 years,
although excavations of local river sediment indicated a date range
of between 400,000 to 1.8 million years BCE. Another similar,
though smaller find was discovered at “Auditorium Cave” also in
India. At Auditorium Cave 10 cupules were found, one with a single
meandering grove connected to it similar to cup-marked stones
found in California and elsewhere. Nine of the ten cupules were
found in the same location indicating that they were carved at
approximately the same time. All were in association with Acheulin
tools.
According to Robert G. Bednarik, there is no reasonable doubt

that some or all of the petroglyphs at the Auditorium cave, were
created by people of a Lower Palaeolithic tool culture characterized
by hand choppers, like those belonging to the African Oldowan
culture, and therefore pre-dating the Acheulian, which began in
India around 1.6 million BCE although reliable dating is illusive.87
87
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/bhimbetka-petroglyphs.htm
accessed 9/25/12
89
These cup-marked stones are the oldest yet known in the world
indicating that the origination of these strange symbols may have
occurred in India.
Additional ancient cupules found in India include 400 found in a

natural cave in Pudukkottai, India which had been carved on 100
square feet of the caves roof surface believed to date to the
Mesolithic era.
Very ancient examples of cup-marked stones have also been

found in Europe. The most notable site is that of La Ferrassie Cave
in France. In 1933, at La Ferrassie burial 6, a large limestone slab
was found covering the grave of a Neanderthal child. On its
underside was found an arrangement of cupule-art, consisting of 2
larger hollows and eight pairs of smaller holes, leading archeologist
Robert Bednarik to describe the entire site as one of significant
cultural complexity. This site has been dated to 60,000 to 70,000
years BCE.
The following time line illustrates the history of stone-age tools

and art, including cup-marked stones:
Lower Paleolithic Era
2.5 million BCE
Olduwan tool culture. Earliest stone tools used for chopping and
cutting. Hadar, Ethiopia.
1.7 million BCE
Oldest non-artistic cupule discovered. Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.
1.6 million BCE
Olduwan tool culture replaced with the Acheulean which becomes

the dominant tool-making tradition of the Lower Paleolithic era
throughout most of Africa, Asia and Europe.
90
1.5 million BCE
The Human species is a dominant predator in the world.
400,000 BCE
Flint tool manufacture takes root through the Clactonian culture of

Europe.
300,000 BCE
Beginning of the Mousterian tool culture in Europe, Middle East and

North Africa. Beginning of serrated edge blade production.
290,000 BCE
Cupules and other rock art found at Auditorium Cave, Bhimbetka

and Daraki-Chattan Cave, Madhya Pradesh, India dated at 290,000
to 700,000 years BCE. Oldest known rock art.
230,000 BCE
Venus of Berekhat Ram figurine dated between 230,000 and

700,000 BCE. Oldest known stone age figure.
Middle Paleolithic Era
200,000 BCE – 100,000BCE
Levallois Culture appears with advanced flint-knapping. Venus of

Tan-Tan quartzite figurine dated between 200,000 and 500,000
BCE.
70,000 BCE
Blombos Cave engravings with cross-hatched designs. La

Ferrassie Cave cupules.
91
Mesolithic Era
10,000 – 3,000 BC
Extensive cupule creation in Europe, India and North America.
92
Afterword
These ancient cup-marked stones have been created since the
dawn of time. They appear on every continent and have universal
characteristics in their appearance and in how they were used. With
so many of them still in existence and so many people aware of
them one would think that current day archaeologist would know
what they are—what they meant to ancient man. The sad fact is
current science doesn’t have anything more than theory,
assumption and guess to go on.
Folklore provides some hint at their meaning and use. We know

that the water collected in the cups was and still is viewed as
healing. We know that people believed that the wind could be
raised by leaving offerings next to them. We know that women
through time believed that they could ensure pregnancy through
their use. We also know that a great many of them marked the final
resting places for the dead and the cup-marks may have been used
in ancient astronomical observations.
The fact that these symbols and prehistoric art works flourished
and spread around the world after their ancient beginning in a
relatively short time creates the need for serious analysis of the
long maligned theories of cultural diffusion through trade, religion,
exploration and the sharing of ideas. Until scholars and scientists
can cast off their predominant beliefs that expressions of “culture”
are geographically or nationally owned we may never come to
understand the mysteries that of our world and the people who lived
before us.
The purpose of this small book is not to provide all of the

answers but to raise questions in the hope that future work will be
undertaken that will provide more definitive information about these
fascinating artifacts which may date back to 700,000 BCE.
93
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Meanings Behind Them. New York: Meridian 1992
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of Southern California”, in University of California Publications in
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Folklore and Religion. Raleigh: OakChylde Books/Lulu Press Inc.
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98
About the Authors
Vyacheslav Mizin is a member of the Russian Geographical

Society (St. Petersburg), a traveler, a researcher of sacred places
and participant in expeditions to Kola peninsula, Iceland as well as
other locations. His books include The Sacred Stones and Sacred
Places of the Leningrad Region, Seids: Stone Legends of Lapland,
and The Gogland Island. He has also been involved in documentary
films and photographic exhibitions.
Gary R. Varner is also a traveler in search of mysterious places

of power and symbolism. He has journeyed to England, Wales,
Ireland, Canada, Yucatan and across the United States to visit the
places he writes about and to capture them in photographs. He has
over twenty books in print on folklore, mythology and symbolism
including The Mythic Forest, Menhirs, Dolmen and Circles of Stone,
Sacred Wells, Ancient Footprints—Cultural Diffusion in Pre-
Columbian America, The Owens Valley Paiute-A Cultural History
and Ethiopia-A Cultural History of An Ancient Land among others.
He has also lectured and appeared on television shows concerning
symbolism and megalithic structures.
99

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Portals to Other Realms

Cup-Marked Stones and Pre-Historic

© 2012 by Gary R. Varner

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Title page illustration dolmen with cup-marked

Purpose and Functionality 49

Small Cup Stones and Pitted Stones 78

Timeline: A Chronology of Cup-Marks 89

About the Authors 99

-- Archaic Rock Inscriptions: An Account of the Cup &

Cup-marked stones are a specific group of monuments known

The main problem in studying of cup-marked stones is the local

Another problem is the correlation of these stones with

Another relevant issue is the origin of cups - in some regions

From different studies the purpose of cups can be classified in

Certainly one of the important steps will be a generalization of

Perhaps one of the most promising directions can become the

Vyacheslav’s list of classifications also can be applied to these

Unfortunately even though these objects are mentioned and

We must come to the very real possibility that we may never

I would like to thank Vyacheslav for the introduction as well as

Cup-marked stones are often referred to in archaeological

While ancient in their origin, many of these cup-marked stones

Many researchers believe that these cup marks are

Archaeologist and rock art expert David Whitley wrote, “it is

A cup-marked stone located in Roseville, California at an

Maidu cup-marked stone. Entryway to the spirit world. Photo by Gary R.

San Diego County archaeologist Gary Fink noted that the

During extensive excavations in Ventura and Santa Barbara

In other areas of the world cup-marked stones were valued for

In such diverse locations as Europe, North America and

Obviously the American, European and Australian cup marked

Estonia is one of those rare gems in the world. Christianized

Folklore collected in 1939 about cup-marked stones in the

Native Americans also saw passageways through cupules to

Cup-marks are found on burial mounds and passage tombs in

While many of the 97 kerbstones at Newgrange have decorative

The photograph on the following page of a detail of kerbstone

Carvings of circles and concentric rings, especially on

However, Saward writes, “a perfectly drawn labyrinth with a

Newgrange kerbstone #13 cup-marks. Photo by Claire O’Kelly.

Photo by Froaringus 2011

Photo from The Prehistory of Australia by D.J. Mulvaney, published by

Of interest as well at Newgrange are four shallow basins,

Andres Tvauri in his excellent article “Cup-Marked Stones in

While the true original purpose of Estonian cup-marked stones

Ahto Kaasik, in his article “Conserving sacred natural sites in

Additional folklore equates cup-marked stones with giants and

Several cup-marked stones are associated with holy wells and

According to lore the rock was inhabited by demons which were

Finnish sources of the early 20th century referred to th chapel

There are several natural cupules on Horse Rock wherein

Orthodox chapel on the Horse Stone on Konevets island at Ladoga lake

In 2004 archaeologists from the Institute for the History of

Cup-marked stones have been utilized in much the same

Another cup-marked stone associated with holy wells is in

In many sites around the world these cup depressions are

Other theories proposed over the years suggested that these

Cup-marked marbleized limestone, Chaw’se. Photo by Gary R.Varner.

There is some indication that solar associations were also seen

A section of marbleized limestone at Chaw’se filled with approximately

Chaw’se “solar” style cupola. Photo by Gary R. Varner.

Petroglyphs on the bedrock indicate that this site was an