The Lost Stones of Strath Tay: Community Excavation of Prehistoric Rock Art

Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust is running a community excavation of prehistoric rock art near Aberfeldy from 2 – 14 September 2025.

We know little about these enigmatic carvings, often called cupmarks and cup and ring marks, which were created 5000 years ago. Only a handful of rock art sites have ever been excavated in Scotland. Our community dig aims to discover more about why they were made and their importance to the people that carved them.

We are looking for volunteers to join us to help with the dig and learn more about rock art! If you would like to get involved, you can join the dig for one or more days. Participation is free and no previous experience is required!

Equipment and training in excavation techniques will be provided. You will need be able to walk some distance over uneven ground, and to be outside all day in variable weather conditions.

We will be working at two different sites about 1km from each other.

Week 1: 2-7 September. For this week we will walk about 1.2km (20 mins) up a rough track to the first site.

Week 2: 9-14 September. For this week we will walk a short distance up a grassy track to the second site.

Volunteer places are limited and must be booked in advance. Booking is open via the link below: 

https://doodle.com/group-poll/participate/azYDAx7e/vote

Once you have booked, we will send you confirmation of your place and more information about where and when to meet, what to bring, and other arrangements. If places are all booked up, we will put your name on the reserve list and contact you if a place becomes available.

If there is high demand, we may prioritise bookings from people who can join us for more than one day.

If you have booked but are unable to join us, please let us know as soon as you can so that we can make your place available to someone else. For queries or cancellations, please contact [email protected]