<< Our Photo Pages >> Ballochmyle - Rock Art in Scotland in East Ayrshire

Submitted by Rockartuk on Tuesday, 31 December 2002  Page Views: 28149

Rock ArtSite Name: Ballochmyle
Country: Scotland County: East Ayrshire Type: Rock Art
Nearest Town: Ayr  Nearest Village: Mauchline
Map Ref: NS5111725565  Landranger Map Number: 70
Latitude: 55.501111N  Longitude: 4.35863W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

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I have visited· I would like to visit

h_fenton SumDoood would like to visit

drolaf visited on 3rd May 2023 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4 quite awesome

PERKYPUFFIN visited on 1st Jan 2023 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4 I was blown away, a super site in pristine condition. Best visited the hour before noon . Cross the stream ,after walking to the wood bottom middle of large field. Try and keep the site as it is, a tourist hotspot and it will be spoilt and damaged. Google Earth says it is closed., it never is but it is best to keep this site a secret one for future generations to enjoy.

SolarMegalith visited on 21st Jun 2015 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 4

Enki visited on 1st May 2013 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 4 A wee bit of a walk over rough terrain on the final approach, can be a bit boggy if the weather's poor.

markj99 visited on 4th Jul 2012 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3 I have made several visits to Ballochmyle Walls however I have not returned since 2012. I hope that the erosion of the markings has not been significant. Ballochmyle is my favourite Rock Art site due to the scale and variety of markings on the panels. I hope that it has remained relatively obscure because I feel that greater popularity of the site could hasten its demise.



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.8 Ambience: 4.8 Access: 3.8

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by wolfnighthunter : Site in North Ayrshire (Vote or comment on this photo)
Rock art in East Ayrshire

SW of the village of Mauchline, East of Ayr with public access, there are numerous carvings on the wall of red sandstone. The site was discovered in our around 1973 and first reported by J. Hunter.

More information on Canmore ID 43557 which adds: "There are two large groups of cup-and-ring markings on a vertical sandstone rockface situated some 260m NE of Ballochmyle Viaduct ... By removing several feet of soil from the base of the corner that lies between the two main halves of this site a further 3 'trilithon-like' glyphs were revealed, to add to the large site total." The Canmore record includes a large number of digital images which can be downloaded for private use.
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Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by wolfnighthunter : Site in North Ayrshire (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by rockartuk : Ballochmyle, Ayrshire, Grid Ref: NS 5120 2540. Located just SW of the village of Mochlin, East of Ayr with public access. A nice panel of rock art with combined motifs. The one above looks like an aeroplane. (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by Bladup : Ballochmyle walls. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by rockartuk : Ballochmyle, Ayrshire, Grid Ref: NS 5120 2540. Located just SW of the village of Mochlin, East of Ayr with public access. Pictured here the main (right) cliff wall of red sandstone with numerous carvings. The site was discovered in our around 1973 and first reported by J. Hunter. (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by Bladup : Ballochmyle walls.

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by wolfnighthunter : Site in North Ayrshire

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by postman : Not my chalk

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by postman : Mesmerising

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by rockartuk : Ballochmyle, Ayrshire, Grid Ref: NS 5120 2540. Located just SW of the village of Mochlin, East of Ayr with public access. This carving of a deer which has sadly been painted, is on the lower part of the left wall. (2 comments)

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by postman : An absolute wonder and must see site

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by postman : Not my chalk

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by wolfnighthunter : Site in North Ayrshire

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by kerrywoman : A detail of the deer among the Ballochmyle rock carvings. (1 comment)

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by rockartuk : Ballochmyle, Ayrshire, Grid Ref: NS 5120 2540. Located just SW of the village of Mochlin, East of Ayr with public access. A modest but impressive duo-motif high up the wall.

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by SolarMegalith : Cup-and-ring mark with four rings on Ballochmyle Walls (photo taken on June 2015).

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by SolarMegalith : The eastern panel at Ballochmyle Walls - a general view (photo taken on June 2015).

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by SolarMegalith : Ballochmyle Walls - cup with two rings (photo taken on June 2015).

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by SolarMegalith : Ballochmyle Walls - cups with single rings (photo taken on June 2015).

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by kerrywoman : Ballochmyle

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by kerrywoman : Ballochmyle.

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by kerrywoman : Ballochmyle cup and ring carvings.

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by rockartuk : Ballochmyle, Ayrshire, Grid Ref: NS 5120 2540. Located just SW of the village of Mochlin, East of Ayr with public access. Two wheel or sun-like motifs on the corner stones between the right and left wall. (1 comment)

Ballochmyle
Ballochmyle submitted by rockartuk : Ballochmyle, Ayrshire, Grid Ref: NS 5120 2540. Located just SW of the village of Mochlin, East of Ayr with public access. An overview of the left wall.

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"Ballochmyle" | Login/Create an Account | 13 News and Comments
  
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Re: Ballochmyle by PERKYPUFFIN on Thursday, 19 January 2023
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To locate the wall. Don't follow main path but cut across the middle of the field. When you get there you will know what I mean . Welly boots essential . After midday the shadows of the cup marks are less distinctive. The best rock art wall I have ever seen.
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Re: Ballochmyle by Tumshy on Wednesday, 23 September 2020
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Wow! What a fantastic site. Viaduct well worth a visit too where you see up close old school Victorian civil engineering at its best. Thanks so much for the directions
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Ballochmyle by Runemage on Thursday, 28 March 2019
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Creative archaeological visualization of the rock art at Ballochmyle - Matt Ritchie by Andy B on Sunday, 04 March 2018
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Case Study 24: Creative archaeological visualization of the rock art at Ballochmyle - Matt Ritchie

The spectacular Neolithic rock art at Ballochmyle extends over three vertical panels on a cliff face overlooking a tributary stream of the River Ayr. The cup-and-ring marks were recorded by RCAHMS in 1986 as a series of detailed pencil drawings and by AOC Archaeology using a combination of terrestrial laser scanning and photogrammetry (Stevenson 1993; AOC Archaeology Group 2015).

The resulting visualizations capture the carvings in exceptional detail. The survey was undertaken to inform conservation management and to contribute to the development of the survey and visualization methodology of prehistoric rock art. The resulting datasets were processed into high-resolution geometric meshes for visualization under simulated raking light conditions. They were prepared for processing in GIS, allowing visualization techniques more usually applied to the interpretation of terrain and surface models generated by aerial laser scanning.

More, with photos and 3D models at
http://www.scottishheritagehub.com/content/case-study-creative-archaeological-visualization-rock-art-ballochmyle
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Ballochmyle by Anonymous on Tuesday, 06 February 2018
often wondered how many more carvings in surounding sandstone was destroid due to sandstone mining
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Re: Ballochmyle by Anonymous on Tuesday, 13 September 2016
This face was excavated in 1982 to see if it went down any distance and to try to find the original ''floor height''. I was part of the dig, along with an Inspector of Monuments from Historic Scotland. The marks do not go down any further and unfortunately there were no finds from the floor area. Though this wasn''t too surprising 5,000-odd years after they were first carved!
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Re: Ballochmyle by Anonymous on Tuesday, 05 January 2016
How would I put this into a satnav on a mobile please ?
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Re: Ballochmyle by vanilla09 on Sunday, 20 October 2013
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Access to this site is a bit different to what Anonymous posted back in 2006. We visited in September 2013 and after faithfully following the directions, we got hopelessly lost and ended up underneath the very striking Ballochmyle viaduct, which in itself is worth a visit but that's not why we were there! Upon meeting a dog walker who very kindly walked us back and re directed us, I can now give you an update on the directions.
Take the "not at all obvious" turn off before the bridge and carry on for a few meters till there's a gentle bend in the road and you see a gate/fence crossing. once over, you will see a well worn foot path in front of you, DONT take this one! Off to your right you will see a faint path leading over the field and in the distance you should see another wooden fence crossing. Head down that way. Once over, there will be a small brook that you will need to hop over (hiking boots are strongly recommended) follow the path up and the cliff face is directly in front of you. don't forgot to round the corner once there as the markings are on two faces of the cliff.
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Re: Ballochmyle by Gaelgall on Monday, 30 August 2010
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Visited the site today and really enjoyed the the carvings and the location's atmosphere. I too wondered what could be found under the soil floor, how far down was the original floor, how tall was the wall originally?
Looking on Google Earth I'd say the location is closer to the following co-ords:
Lat: 55 30'2.77 N
Long: 4 21'31.98 W
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Re: Ballochmyle by Anonymous on Monday, 13 February 2006
Very easy to find and a magnificent set. It would be a good place for proper excavations in front of the petroglyphs - the 'floor' - to look for any tools or other finds associated with the cup and ring panels.

It is not listed, but a full size copy of the Dalgarven Mill lost 'cup and ring' has been made and placed in the grass at the front of the mill buildings. A pamphlet about it is also available. Dalgarven lies between Kilwinning and Dalry.
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Re: Ballochmyle by Anonymous on Friday, 13 May 2005
cant find these anywhere can anyone give directions?
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    Re: Ballochmyle by Anonymous on Monday, 13 February 2006
    Coming down from Mauchline take the 'not at all obvious' turning to the right before the bridge. Drive down and stop before going through the cutting through the rock withh the remains of as footbridge across. Go over the style and across the small bridge. In front to the right will be the sheer red sandstone faces of the old quarry. Take the small path to the right and follow it until it takes you to the rock face - and there they are.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Ballochmyle by Anonymous on Monday, 05 April 2004
Condition:
Ambience:
Access:actually the cup and ring markings are in East Ayrshire on the river Ayr near mauchline
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