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This is an excellent site to visit and is worth the effort needed to find it as it is very well hidden. A map is a very good idea even though some of the forestry roads have changed. Just a short distance north of the Kilmartin center turn left on the rough track by the garage. Go straight on and veer to the right to a gravel quarry and drive straight though this and on uphill. Follow this rough track forestry road uphill for about 2 miles. When you come to a fork bear left on the reddish coloured track, if you miss this the track comes to a dead end so you can easily go back and find it again. When you come to a right turn take it and continue for about a mile. The sea and a distant marina will come into view and where the track widens beside a ruined house stop. Walk down the small track that bends sharply from the forestry track on the right and carry on for about 200m to a small bridge over the stream. Cross the bridge and look for a very overgrown path that follows along the far side of the stream into the trees. Follow this for about 100m, the path becomes clear in the trees. The path turns in a “hairpin” turning completely around to the left and leads uphill. You should see a patch of sky through the trees ahead, this is where the outcrops are to be found. They are just above a few metres of bracken. (When we visited they were quite deeply buried in pine needles and getting overgrown in grass and moss, when we come back here a small light brush and midge repellent will be useful)

Rosette designs at Ormaig

The first slab you come to has some very interesting carvings and the outstanding features are the three “rosettes” made up of a central cup with a circle of cups around it followed by an outer ring. This section was only uncovered in 1974 so the carvings are very clear. Just to the right of the largest rosette seems to be a random arrangement of cups, however these form another clear rosette but it is without the ring. There is a smaller rosette to the left and what seems to be an unfinished one above. the dark marks seem to be lichen. The slab is getting very overgrown.

Slightly higher up there is a slab with some “modern” graffiti dated 1874 among the ancient carvings that includes cups, rings and lengths of grooving.

Cup and rings with grooves on the higher slab

Higher still just under the pine branches is another very interesting slab that is very heavily decorated. It was also heavily buried in pine needles. We traced some unusual sections, near the top of the slab are seven parallel grooves, a feature that is quite rare. Also near the lower left is a cup and gutter surrounded by a circle of pits as well as multiple rings that lead to each other with connected grooves.

Seven grooves near the top

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Summer 2002
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