<< Our Photo Pages >> Blackford Hill - Rock Art in Scotland in Midlothian
Submitted by markj99 on Wednesday, 30 April 2025 Page Views: 194
Rock ArtSite Name: Blackford HillCountry: Scotland County: Midlothian Type: Rock Art
Nearest Town: Edinburgh
Map Ref: NT2537270603
Latitude: 55.922693N Longitude: 3.195768W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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markj99 visited on 22nd Jun 2012 - their rating: Cond: 3 Access: 3 The rock alcove on the SW slope of Blackford Hill is protected from the elements. It is not surprising that someone sheltering here should pass the time by carving a deer onto a flat rock panel.
There is a curious carving on a vertical panel in a rock alcove on the SW slope of Blackford Hill in Edinburgh. It is located c. 70m SW of the OS Trig Point on the summit. The deer is carved in an antique style with pecked grooves. It measures c. 13 cm long and 11 cm high with flared antlers measuring c. 4 cm high. The grooves of the carving stand out from the red sandstone panel. There is another suggested carving on the panel located c. 5 cm SW of the deer's nose: A hunter with a bow and arrow. I found the proposed figure on an area of eroded rock. I could see four parallel lines in bas-relief possibly representing the legs and bow of the hunter. However I was unable to discern the head and body of the figure or the arrow due to the irregular rock surface. The hunter is crudely executed in comparison with the elegant lines of the deer: I don't think they were carved by the same hand.
It has not been possible to date the rock art on Blackford Hill: a 2019 report by Scotland’s Rock Art Project in Canmore ID 97186 states that it "is likely to be historic in date."
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