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A Journey Through Scotland's Ancient Sites Before Caledonia PATREON Before Caledonia FACEBOOK COCHNO STONE, FAIFLEY, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND. THE MYTHICAL COCHNO STONE IS SITUATED ON THE NORTH OF GLASGOW NEXT TO FAIFLY IN WEST DUMBARTONSHIRE. A LARGE ROCK OUTCROP IS SATURATED WITH ANCIENT PETROGLYPHS BY OUR NEOLITHIC ANCESTORS. THE STONE IS PRESENTLY COVERED. IN SEPTEMBER 2016 THE SURFACE WAS UNEARTHED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FIFTY YEARS. THE GLYPH DESIGNS ON THE COCHNO STONE ARE FOUND NOT JUST LOCALLY BUT WESTERN EUROPE. OTHER AREAS IN SCOTLAND WITH SIMILAR MOTIFS ARE DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY, PERTH & KINROSS AND KILMARTIN. THE SYMBOLS ON THE COCHNO STONE RIVAL SOME OF THE FINEST AT ACHNABRECK IN KILMARTIN GLEN. THE SOFT SANDSTONE OUTCROP IS 15M X 8M. OUR ANCESTORS CAREFULLY CREATED SEEMINGLY ABSTRACT AND RANDOM CUP AND RING DESIGNS. THE ROCK SHEET HAS A FEW UNIQUE CARVINGS LIKE, TWO FEET OF FOUR TOES, FACES AND A MODERN ATTEMPT AT CARVING A CUP AND RING DESIGN. THE ANCIENT PEOPLE OF NORTHERN BRITAIN WERE BUSY CREATING PETROGLYPHS WHICH WE CAN STILL ENJOY VISITING TODAY. THE MEANING OF THESE GLYPHS IS TOTALY LOST TO US. THEORIES ARE TEN A PENNY REGARDING THE PURPOSE. ONE THEORY IS STAR MAPS. THE COCHNO STONE WAS REDISCOVERED BY THE REVEREND JAMES HARVEY IN 1887. ROBERT MUNRO AND DAVID HARVIE, BOTH MINISTERS, WERE THE FIRST PEOPLE TO RECORD THE STONE IN THE 1880’S. IN 1937, LUDOVIC MANN, AN AMATEUR, GLASWEGIAN, ARCHAEOLOGIST, PAINTED THE GLYPHS TO HIGHLIGHT THEM AND ADDED LINES. HE WAS POSSIBLY TRYING TO PROVE THEORIES ON NEOLITHIC RELIGION AND MATHEMATICS. FROM THE 1940’S - 60’S, PEOPLE WERE CARVING THERE NAME ONTO THE SOFT ROCK. OVER ONE HUNDRED NAMES AND DATED HAVE BEEN FOUND FROM THE MODERN ERA. DURING 1965, THE STONE WAS COVERED IN HALF A METER OF EARTH AND FORGOTTEN. THE LOCAL PEOPLE REMEMBERED THE OUTCROP, THEY KNEW AS ‘THE DRUIDS STONE’. THE COCHNO STONE THEN BECAME A MYTHICAL ENIGMA OF SCOTTISH ARCHAEOLOGY. IN 2015, DR KENNETH BROPHY OF GLASGOW UNIVERSITY, WAS APPROACHED BY A SPANISH DIGITAL HERITAGE COMPANY, TO DIGITALLY AND PHOTOMETRICALLY RECORD THE STONE. IN SEPTEMBER 2015, A TRIAL EXCAVATION TOOK PLACE TO CONFIRM THE CONDITION AND LOCATION OF THE COCHNO STONE. FROM THE 5 - 25/9/16 THE COCHNO STONE WAS UNCOVERED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FIFTY YEARS. DURING THIS THREE WEEK PERIOD EXCAVATIONS TOOK PLACE. A MINI DIGGER CLEARED AWAY THE SOIL. A FEW MODERN FINDS WERE MARBLES AND A RED CROSS BADGE. THE MODERN WALL AROUND THE STONE HAD FALLEN ONTO THE OUTCROP. THE SURFACE WAS CLEANED USING TOOLS MADE OF PLASTIC. THE LOCAL FIRE BRIGADE CAME ALONG TO WASH OFF THE REMAINING MUCK. THE OUTCROP WAS LASER SCANNED BY SCOTTISH TEN. LUDOVIC MANN’S PAINT LINES COULD STILL BE SEEN IN SEPTEMBER 2016. SAMPLES OF THE PAINT WERE TAKEN AND FIVE COLOURS WERE FOUND, GREEN, BLACK, BLUE, RED, YELLOW AND WHITE. LOTS OF PEOPLE WERE COMING AND GOING TO VIEW THE ENIGMATIC PETROGLYPHS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FIFTY YEARS. THERE WAS ALSO A LOT OF MEDIA INTEREST. ON MY VISIT I SPOKE TO A LOCAL MAN WHO SAID HE REMEMBERED PLAYING MARBLES ON THE STONE AS A CHILD. WHAT MAY BECOME OF THE COCHNO STONE IS UNKNOWN. HOPEFULLY A SCALE REPLICA MAY BE MADE AND PUT ON DISPLAY IN A GLASGOW MUSEUM. PERHAPS IT MAY BE UNCOVERED AND MADE ACCESSIBLE LIKE ACHNABRECK IN KILMARTIN GLEN, WITH SINAGE, A WALKWAY AND PROTECTED BY A FENCE. HOPEFULLY OUR ANCESTORS WHO CREATED THE DESIGNS WOULD BE THRILLED THAT THOUSANDS OF YEARS LATER THEY STILL EXSIST AND ARE BEING VISITED BY MODERN PEOPLE WHO ARE BAMBOOZLED AT THE MEANING OF THESE SYMBOLS WHICH WERE OBVIOUSLY EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THEM. A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR ANCIENT ANCESTORS.
