Tag: Local history

Barmishaw Stone, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 11193 46417

Also Known as:

  1. Barnishaw Stone
  2. Carving I/4 (Davies)
  3. Carving no.92 (Hedges)
  4. Carving no.253 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

The Barmishaw Stone

Follow the same directions to reach the superb Badger Stone carving, and from here take the footpath that runs downhill.  You’ll cross another footpath about 100 yards down the moor, but just keep walking down the path and you’ll notice the small copse of woods ahead of you.  As the footpath begins to swerve roughly away, northeast, heading away from the said woodland, keep your eyes peeled on your left for a reasonably large but flattish rock close to the ground (in summer it’s surrounded by bracken) about 75 yards away.  That’s your target!

Archaeology & History

Of the hundreds of cup-and-ring stones on Ilkley Moor and district, this is one of my personal favourites!  I first visited the stone in 1977 as a young teenager and was mightily impressed by the unusual nature of the design here — and that impression still remains.  Aswell as possessing the usual cups and rings, the Barmishaw Stone is one of just a few rocks also possessing a sort of ‘ladder’ design or linear pattern within the overall carving: an insignia echoed on the nearby Willie Hall Wood carving, the Piper Stone, and also on the Panorama Stones.  As with the ‘ladders’ on the Panorama carving, those found here at Barmishaw are very eroded and are increasingly difficult to see during the daytime (the best time to notice them is usually around sunrise or sunset, and particularly when the rock itself is wet).

The carving has been described many times, albeit briefly, by a number of writers.  In John Hedges (1986) fine survey he said the following:

Barmishaw Stone, looking northwest
Barmishaw Stone, looking southeast

“Medium sized flat-topped rock…fairly smooth grit, sloping slightly east to west, covered with carvings, some of which are very worn.  Slanting sunshine needed to detect them.  About twenty-four cups, at least nine with rings or incomplete rings, two with multiple grooves half round and continuing straight down, one of them incorporating ‘ladder.’  Five other ‘ladders’ – in a good light.  Cups mostly deep and clear.”  A few years later, Boughey & Vickerman (2003) echoed much of Mr Hedges description, though noted that of the 24 cups with their rings, one possessed a triple ring.

Alan Davies’ illustration

Like so many cup-and-ring stones, they have given rise to hosts of fascinating theories and ideas — one of which is based on mathematics and metrology.  In the 1980s, Alan Davies (1983, 1988) surveyed the Barmishaw Stone — and other carvings on Ilkley Moor — to explore the possibility that the cups and rings were laid out according to a basic unit of measure, the Megalithic Inch (MI), as proposed by Alexander Thom some years earlier.  Although Davies’ work showed that such a primary unit of measure wasn’t to be found universally, his research at the Barmishaw Stone indicated “significant evidence for quanta of…3 MI,” although this occurred “when the analysis is restricted to only ringed cups.”  Despite this, Davies thought that the existence of the Megalithic Inch was evident in this and other carvings on the moors, stating that:

“The repeated emergence of the significance of ringed cups, and the fact that all putative quanta seem to bear a simple numeric relation to each other do not seem to be coincidental.”

Although it has to be said that the selectivity of data in Davies’ research is more indicative that the Megalithic Inches in the the carvings was due, neither to chance nor mathematics, but more that the implements used to carve the rocks and the size of the hands of the people doing the carvings was pretty uniform and so, as a result, would give an obvious window of numeric similarities that can easily be mistaken as a deliberate metrology.  These simplistic factors need assessing.  In modern trials that we’ve done carving cup-markings, we’ve found them to be of similar size to those carved in prehistoric times—as you’d expect.

Barmishaw Stone (after Hedges, 1986)
Barmishaw stone (Cowling 1946)

The ladder motif central to this carving may have related to early religious and ritual events here.  Across the world, indigenous cultures commonly relate the ‘ladder’ to be a symbol of ascension, both by shamans, mystics and during rites of passage.  The symbol represents the journey of the soul to and from supernatural realms.  To discount this possibility at the Barmishaw Stone would be shortsighted.

The carving was very probably painted when our neolithic ancestors gathered here, much as Australian aborigines still do to their carvings using lichens and other plant dyes, with the respective ladders and lines changing colour where movements between worlds or shifts of attendant spirit occurred.  By virtue of the its very name, I consider this rock to have been considerably important; the “ghost” aspect to barmishaw being a typically misconstrued aspect of ‘spirit’.

Folklore

This excellent cup-and-ring marked stone probably derives its name from the old dialect words “barm i’ t’ shaw”, meaning “ghost in the wood” stone.  Whatever guise the attendant spirit of this rock may have had has long since been forgotten; though spectral accounts from the beginning of the nineteenth century until modern times may give us clues.  There have been several reports of green-coloured elemental creatures around the area between here and the White Wells sacred spring a short distance to the east.  The most recent account, from 1987, took on the modern mythic form of a little green man from space, with attendant UFO to boot!  The Barmishaw Hole nearby was a place where faerie-folk used to live.  Excesses of geological faulting and water makes the magickal nature of this place particularly potent.

References:

  1. Allen, J. Romilly, “The Prehistoric Rock Sculptures of Ilkley,” in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, volume 35, 1879.
  2. Allen, J. Romilly, “Notice of Sculptured Rocks near Ilkley,” in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, volume 38, 1882.
  3. Bennett, Paul, “Cup-and-Ring Art”, in Towards 2012, volume 4, pp.83-92, 1998.
  4. Bennett, Paul, The Old Stones of Elmet, Capall Bann: Milverton 2001.
  5. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Wakefield 2003.
  6. Cowling, E.T., ‘A Classification of West Yorkshire Cup and Ring Stones,’ in Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 1940.
  7. Cowling, E.T., Rombald’s Way: A Prehistory of Mid-Wharfedale, William Walker: Otley 1946.
  8. Davis, Alan, ‘The Metrology of Cup & Ring Carvings near Ilkley in Yorkshire,’ Science Journal 25, 1983.
  9. Davies, Alan, ‘The Metrology of Cup and Ring Carvings,’ in Ruggles, C., Records in Stone, Cambridge University Press 1988.
  10. Eliade, Mircea, Patterns in Comparative Religion, Sheed & Ward: London 1958.
  11. Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
  12. Wright, Joseph, The English Dialect Dictionary – volume 1, Henry Frowde: Oxford 1905.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian 


Gwytherin Churchyard, Denbighshire

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Stone Row: OS Grid Reference – SH 8767 6147

Also known as:

  1. Gwytherin Church Standing Stones
  2. The Four Stones

Getting Here

From the Denbigh road (A543 and A544) turn off at Llansannan for Gwytherin on the B5384 for 6 miles or so. At the village of Gwytherin St Winifred’s church stands roughly in the middle of the place at a junction of four roads. The church stands upon a small round hill and within the confines of the churchyard (north side) are four small standing stones – you can’t really miss them!

Archaeology & History

At the northern side of the churchyard near the wall there’s an alignment of four small standing stones probably dating from the Bronze Age.  The stones stand roughly 3 metres or 6 feet apart and are about 1 metre or 3 feet in height.  The westernmost stone has a Latin inscription carved onto it which is ‘VINNEMAGLI FILI SENEMAGLI’, or, ‘The Stone of Vinnemaglus, son of Senemaglus’, which is generally thought to date from the Romano-British period in the 5th-6th century AD and to be a grave marker.  Most probably the inscription was carved onto the prehistoric stone during the early Christian period — the stones themselves being from pre-Christian times.

The general thinking is that these stones belonged to a Bronze Age settlement that stood here long before any church was founded.  Perhaps there were other stones here forming a linear alignment that must have meant something to the ancient folks who lived here.  There has also been speculation as to whether the inscribed standing stone could actually mark the grave of St Winifred herself.

The churchyard is circular, indicating that it is a pagan sacred site.  Celtic churches being built on sites like this to Christianize them, but not entirely forget the meaning to the peoples of “the old religion,” as it’s called.  Also in the churchyard stand three ancient yew trees — yet another sign that the site is a holy one.

The first church in Gwytherin was founded by St Eleri (Elerius), a Welsh prince, in the mid-7th century.  He may be identical with St Hilary, a saint commemorated at a village of that name near Cowbridge, South Glamorgan.  Other than that, Eleri and his mother, Theonia, founded a double monastery here: one for men and the other for women, to which a young St Winifred (of Holywell) came to and was elected second abbess after Theonia.  St Eleri was probably a disciple of St Beuno, uncle to St Winifred, and also her cousin.  Here in 650 or 670 AD Winifred was buried in the churchyard — her relics being taken to Shrewsbury abbey in 1138.

References:

  1. Burl, Aubrey, From Carnac to Callanish, Yale University Press 1993.
  2. Houlder, Christopher, Wales: An Archaeological Guide, Faber & Faber: London 1978.
  3. Hulse, T.G., Gwytherin: A Welsh Cult Site Of The Mid-Twelth Century, (unpublished paper) 1994.
  4. Nash-Williams, V.E., The Early Christian Monuments of Wales, Cardiff, 1950.
  5. Westwood, J.O., “Early Inscribed Stones of Wales,” in Archaeologia Cambrensis, 18:255-259, 1863.

Copyright © Ray Spencer 2011


Castle Hill, Little Wittenham, Oxfordshire

megalithix

Hillfort:  OS Grid Reference – SU 5696 9244

Also Known as:

  1. Sinodun Camp
  2. Wittenham Clumps

Getting Here

Either reach this from Dorchester’s Dyke Hills by crossing the bridge over the Thames at its southwestern side and walk thru the village and up the fields to the wooded rise on your left; or simply get take the road between Brightwell-cum-Sotwell to the delightful village of Little Wittenham and, on your right-hand side, notes the unmissable clump of trees and rise in the fields on your right.  That’s the place!

Archaeology & History

Major Allen’s 1932 photo

To be found on the southern side of the River Thames, across from the huge Dyke Hills camp, this prominent enclosed hillfort was thought to be a place where the tribal peoples of differing groups converged — the Dubonni, the Catuvellauni, and Atrebates peoples.  And to this day it remains impressive.  Long thought to have been merely the province of Iron Age settlers, in more recent years it has shown to have had a longer and richer history than academics previously dare write about.  In Jean Cook’s (1985) fine work on the archaeology of the region, she described the typical narrative Castle Hill elicited from professionals until only a few years back, saying:

“The hillfort on Wittenham Clumps covers approximately 4 hectares (c. 10 acres) and comprises a single ditch and rampart.  It commands superb views northwards up the Thames valley and to the south and west across the Vale of White Horse to the Berkshire Downs, where a series of similar hillforts follows the line of an ancient route — the Ridgeway.  The fort has never been excavated, although frequent past ploughings have produced Iron Age and early Saxon sherds as well as Romano-British pottery.  However, to the south of the hillfort…a well-stratified Iron Age settlement was found.  It seems probable on the basis of other excavated sites that the fort was permanently occupied.  It would have developed as  a regional administrative and political centre, with specialist craftsmen and traders and would have performed some of the same functions as a medieval market town.”

Although Cook’s latter remarks should be addressed with caution (market economics was far from the mythic perspectives of Iron Age people), this great site was of obvious importance.  But later excavations at the site in 2002-03 showed that the site had in fact been used by neolithic people and, around the tops, flints and other remains were found that took human activity here back into mesolithic times, with some finds dated around 6000 BC!  More surprisingly (to archaeologists anyway) was that Castle Hill continued to be used way into medieval times!

Thankfully much of this place is still pretty well-preserved and is well worth exploring to historians, pagans and walkers.

References:

  1. Cook, Jean, “Before the Roman Conquest,” in Dorchester through the Ages, Oxford University 1985.
  2. Cook, Jean & Rowley, Trevor (eds.), Dorchester through the Ages, Oxford University 1985.

Links:

  1. An Interim Summary Report on Excavations at Castle Hill, Wittenham Clumps

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


West Agra Plantation 3, Colsterdale, North Yorkshire

megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 14236 81675

Also Known as:

  1. WAP 3a & 3b (Brown & Brown)

Getting Here

West Agra 3 Rock

From Masham take the Fearby Road & go through the village, onwards & past Healey village and less than a mile on where the road forks, bear to the right past and go along the gorgeous little-known vale of Colsterdale.  Less than 2 miles on, walk up the notable track veering to your right that goes diagonally uphill and past the bottom of West Agra farm along the wallside till you reach the gate.  Thru the gate, walk immediately uphill on your right following the walling for a coupla hundred yards until you reach another gate into the field on your right.  You’ll see a cluster of large boulders in the first field, which you need to walk past and look at the large boulder up against the walling in the next field.  You can’t miss it!

Archaeology & History

Photo by Geoff Watson

First mentioned — albeit briefly — in Brown’s (2008) work, this large bedrock stone, covered down its eastern side by a line of drystone walling, has a good scattering of cups and lines, mainly on its central and westerly side.  A cluster of them were etched onto a natural rise near the middle of the rock, which itself has a long circuitous line running around its northern and western sides, which you can just see below centre in the photo (below left).  Altogether on this side of the rock surface there appears to be some 56 cup-marks plus a number of long carved grooves curling in differing directions: some of these appear to have been Nature’s handiwork that were subsequently modified by human hands.  It’s an impressive-looking petroglyph.

Main rock surface
Cluster of cups – by QDanT

If we go over to the other side of the walling, we find more cup-markings.  This discovery led Paul & Barbara Brown (2008) to classify the site as being two separate carved rocks — calling them 3a and 3b — thinking that the much smaller carved area on the other side of the wall, “may have originated from WAP 3a’s quarried southern section.”  On this smaller section we find some 7 cup-markings with possible carved lines running off the edge of the stone and some running roughly parallel to the walling.  Whatever the truth of the Browns’ assertion, this is a fine carving well worth looking at!

References:

  1. Brown, Paul & Barbara, Prehistoric Rock Art in the Northern Dales, Tempus: Stroud 2008.

Links:

  1. Agra Wood Rock Art – more notes & images

Acknowledgements:  For use of their photos, many thanks to Geoff Watson; and QDanT and his Teddy!

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


West Agra Plantation (8), Colsterdale, North Yorkshire

megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 14250 81756

Also Known as:

  1. WAP 8 (Brown & Brown)

Getting Here

The ‘West Agra 8’ Stone (after ‘QDanT’)

From Masham, head westwards along the country lanes to Fearby village (passing the old cross on the green), through old Healey village (where once stood four stone circles, seemingly destroyed) and onwards to Gollinglith.  From here, keep going up the winding steep lane until you’re at the top where, on the right-hand side of the road, a footpath takes you diagonally northwest over the uphill fields.  When you hit the walling which leads to the woods, follow it up and, once at the corner of the trees, follow the track back eastwards along the wall edge, keeping your eyes peeled when you pass the second line of walling that runs down the slope.  You’re damn close!

Archaeology & History

One of a cluster of fascinating carvings in this remote region of the upland Dales, this is perhaps the most impressive multiple-ringed carving of the group, known collectively as the West Agra Plantation group.  The carving was rediscovered sometime in 2002 by Emily McIntosh and was described by Brown & Brown (2008) thus:

“This boulder measures 5.5 x 3.1 x 1.28m and has a multiringed motif 50cm in diameter linked by a number of grooves and isolated cups.”

Teddy with his rings! (after ‘QDanT’)
Primary cup-and-multiple-rings (after ‘QDanT’)

But this barely does the stone justice.  The main focus is on the cup with six surrounding rings, intersected by an intrusive double-line from outside the series of rings then running into the central ring itself — though not touching the focal cup at the very centre.  This double line points to the southeast and is somewhat akin to a sliver of light running to or from old solar designs.  It is a little bit like some aspects of the carved stones found on Ilkley’s Panorama Stones (though Ilkley’s carvings are much fainter).  At the end of the intrusive double-line is a small cluster of cup-marks.  There’s also another curious singular carved line running outwards from the third ring, running out of the concentric rings then heading off further down the stone.  More cups and lines scatter other parts of the stone and there may be another faint line running from near the central cup all the way out of the rings close to the main ‘ray’ of lines.

Photo by Geoff Watson

A large standing stone can be seen if you walk a few hundred yards east along the side of the wall.  It’s quite impressive.

Apparently the woodland in which this carving (and its associates) can be found is supposedly ‘private’ and one is supposed to contact some group calling itself Swinton Estates to set foot in the woods.  Not the sort of practice we usually put up with in Yorkshire.  If anyone has their contact details, please add them below in the event that anyone has need to ask ’em about going for a walk here.

References:

  1. Brown, Paul & Barbara, Prehistoric Rock Art in the Northern Dales, Tempus: Stroud 2008.

Links:

  1. Agra Wood Rock Art – more notes & images

Acknowledgements:  For use of their photos, many thanks to Geoff Watson; and QDanT and his Teddy!

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Boatbridge Quarry, Thankerton, Lanarkshire

cartomancer

Cists (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – NS 981 376

Also Known as:

  1. Tinto Quarry

Archaeology & History

The sites that were once here have long since been destroyed as a result of quarrying operations.  But thankfully this place was given a quick appraisal by those renowned Scottish archaeologists, Anna Ritchie and D.V. Clarke, before final destruction.  They recorded the site in an early edition of Discovery & Excavation in Scotland:

“Two short cists were discovered in November, 1970, during the removal of a long low gravel ridge protruding into the flood plain of the River Clyde.  The two cists were both aligned NE-SW and were 14m apart.  Both employed identical construction techniques.  The side slabs overlapped both end slabs and the N end slab was shorter than the other three slabs, necessitating a building-up of the floor by some 30cm.  Both appear to have had a double layer of capstones although this is uncertain in one case.  The cists contained and adult and child without grave goods on a gravel floor in one, and an adult with a beaker on a ‘crazy-paving’ floor in the other.”

Crazy-paving in prehistoric times sounds good!  The Scots got there first!

References:

  1. Clarke, D.V. & Ritchie, Anna, “Boatbridge Quarry: Short Cists,” in Discovery & Excavation in Scotland, 1971.

© Ian Carr, The Northern Antiquarian 


Monzie Carving, Crieff, Perthshire

megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 88161 24176

Getting Here

Andy Finlayson’s original piece

From Gilmerton village, take the A822 Dunkeld road north.  Go for about 200 yards and take the little road to Monzie; watching carefully another 200 yards on for the dirt-track on the left taking you across the fields.  Go along the track, watching out for the small stones in the field on your right less than 200 yards along.  You can’t really miss ’em!  This small ring of stones is the Monzie Cairn Circle.  The carving is just in front of it!

Archaeology & History

Although we know this brilliant carved stone has some relationship with the Monzie cairn circle only five yards away (it was linked via a man-made stone causeway, running between the circle and the carving), the stone itself is very much deserving of its own entry here — and at the same time I can give Andrew Finlayson’s (2010) excellent book a decent plug aswell! (the superb drawings of the stone, top & bottom, are from Andy’s work)

Allen’s 1882 drawing
Carving & proximity of circle

First mentioned (I think) in Simpson’s (1867) early survey, the carving was described soon after by J. Romilly Allen (1882), who gave us an early drawing of the stone.  Thought by some to have originally stood upright, the carving was described by Aubrey Burl (2000) as being, “decorated with forty-six cupmarks, cup-and-rings, nine double, one triple, there are grooves and a pair of joined cups.”  It’s certainly an impressive carving!

Although the carving has been posited by some archaeologists as an outlier to the Monzie circle, it’s probable that the circle emerged from the carving — a concept that some may find difficult to understand.  I’m not aware of any modern excavations here (the last, I think, was in 1938), but my guess would be that the stone causeway laid between the cup-and-ring stone and the circle ran towards the circle from the carving, and not the other way round.  The carving is probably older than the stone ring — though of course, without excavation, my idea could be utter bullshit! (there are also some cup-marked stones in the circle aswell – though none as impressive as this)

The carving in shadow (© Andrew Finlayson)

One of my truly favourite megalith fanatics (despite some of his alignments being out), Alexander Thom, came here and thought this old carving “coincided with a rough stellar alignment from the centre-point of the cairn” (Hadingham 1974); though his notes in Megalithic Rings (1980) tell that,

“from the cupmarked stone beside the circle, the midsummer sun sets above an outlier some 800ft distant.”

The “outlier” that Thom mentions is known as the Witches’ Stone of Monzie, which Simpson (1867) appears to have mistakenly thought was the name of this very carving.

References:

  1. Allen, J. Romilly, “Notes on some Undescribed Stones with Cup Markings in Scotland,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland, volume 16, 1882.
  2. Burl, Aubrey, The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, Yale University Press 2000.
  3. Finlayson, Andrew, The Stones of Strathearn, One Tree Island: Comrie 2010.
  4. Hadingham, Evan, Ancient Carvings in Britain, Garnstone: London 1974.
  5. Simpson, James, Archaic Sculpturings of Cups, Circles, etc., Upon Stones and Rocks in Scotland, England and other Countries, Edmonston & Douglas: Edinburgh 1867.
  6. Thom, Alexander, “Megalithic Astronomy: Indications in Standing Stones,” in Vistas in Astronomy, volume 7, 1966.
  7. Thom, A., Thom, A.S. & Burl, H.A.W., Megalithic Rings, BAR: Oxford 1980.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Dean Church, Dean, Cumbria

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Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NY 0708 2536

Getting Here

Photo & drawing of Dean’s cup-and-ring (after Beckensall 1992)

St Oswald’s church stands at the western edge of the village of Dean beside the road to Branthwaite. The village is located some 5 miles due south-west of Cockermouth and about 6 miles to the south-east of Workington.

Archaeology & History

In the nave of St Oswald’s church there is now housed a small sandstone boulder that has a well-defined central cup-mark around which are two large concentric rings, a third ring being left open – perhaps indicating a portal (gateway), and three other well defined cup-marks at the side of that, one of which has become almost adjoined to the other through erosion.

The boulder was ploughed up in a field at nearby Park Hill to the south-west of the village in 1918. It was then placed in the churchyard but, in recent times it was brought into the church for safety reasons.

References:

  1. Beckensall, Stan, Cumbrian Prehistoric Rock Art, Abbey Press: Hexham 1992.
  2. Beckensall, Stan, British Prehistoric Rock Art,Tempus: Stroud 1999.
  3. Beckensall, Stan, Prehistoric Rock Art in Cumbria, Tempus: Stroud 2002.

© Ray Spencer, 2011


Ralph Cross, Westerdale Moor, North Yorkshire

megalithix

Cross:  OS Grid Reference – NZ 67724 02092

Also Known as:

  1. Ralph’s Cross
  2. Young Ralph’s Cross

Getting Here

The cross stands high-up on Danby High Moor between Hutton-le-Hole and Castleton, just by the junction of two moorland roads to Rosedale and Westerdale, in north Yorkshire.  The monument stands on private land. (Ed. – though in Yorkshire, many of us ignore such signs)

Archaeology & History

Mr Woodwark’s 1930s photo of Young Ralph

First described in old deeds from the early 13th century, Ralph’s Cross stands nine feet high on a solid stone base.  There is uncertainty about its age; the present-day cross could date from the 18th century though some historians date it to around 1200, certainly the base could date from that time.  It seems likely that a much older cross once stood on this site — perhaps an Anglo-Saxon one that was actually made of wood.  At that time it may have been referred to as ‘The Roda Cross’ (Rude Cross).  More than likely the cross acted as a medieval highway marker because it stands at the junction of two moorland roads. Originally there were some letters carved on the cross, one in particular, being the letter “R” for Ralph was carved on the south face.

Over the centuries the cross has suffered damage and vandalism by being knocked down, particularly in the 1960s and again in 1984 after which it lay in two pieces. However, in 1985 the cross was lovingly restored and re-erected by some local men, Mr Robert Dixon, Mr Tom Rudd and Mr Michael Smith, at the English Heritage Commission’s stone masonry workshop at Mount Grace Priory.  The middle section of the cross was made from new stone from nearby quarries; the top section was not badly damaged, but a section of delta metal was inserted inside the shaft to make a secure link between the sections and the cross-head.  The cross is a listed monument.

A few hundred yards to the south stands another cross called ‘Old Ralph’ which is just 5 feet high and is located on Blackey Ridge. This cross dates from the beginning of the 13th century and is perhaps a memorial to Ralph, bishop of Guisborough.

Folklore

According to legend, the cross was set up to mark the resting place of a monk from Farndale and a nun from Rosedale.  They would often meet here and a romantic liason of sorts occurred, but they were found out by their superiors and came to a nasty end, possibly with their deaths.  But the most common folk-tale tells us that a farmer called Ralph from Danby found the dead body of a traveller at this spot.  He was so moved by this that he decided to erect a cross in memory of this poor unfortunate traveller, who had starved to death and was found to be penniless.  Ralph had a hollow carved into the top of the cross so that more wealthy travellers, those on horseback, might place a few coins for the benefit of any less fortunate travellers, or as a thanksgiving for having reached this point on their journey. The poor traveller was able to take a coin, if he/she could reach the hollow, and buy a hot meal at the nearest inn.  Ralph then vowed that such a terrible thing would never ever happen again, and it seems to have worked, thanks to him.

References:

  1. Ford, Joseph, Some Reminiscences and Folk-Lore of Danby Parish & District, Horne and Son: Whitby 1953.
  2. Ogilvie, Elizabeth & Sleightholme, Audrey, An Illustrated Guide to the Crosses on the North Yorkshire Moors, Village Green Press: Thorganby 1994.
  3. Woodwark, T.H., The Crosses on the North York Moors, Whitby Literary & Philosophical Society 1934.

© Ray Spencer, 2011


Duncroisk (3), Glen Lochay, Killin, Perthshire

megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 53447 35669

Also Known as:

  1. Canmore ID 24181
  2. Duncroisk 5 (Canmore)

Getting Here

Duncroisk 3 Carving
Duncroisk 3 Carving

Two real ways to get here. Either (i) follow the directions to get to the Stag Cottage carvings of Duncroisk 1, then walk down to the fence by the riverside and walk along to the left for a coupla hundred yards till you reach a second metal fence-post sticking out of a rock on the other side of the deer-fencing; or (ii) from the roadside burn a coupla hundred yards along the road before you reach Stag Cottage, follow it down to the riverside, then head along the footpath behind the fencing, parallel with the river’s edge.  It aint far.  Within 100 yards you’ll reach the stone with the metal pole sticking out of it and the carvings are on this!

Archaeology & History

Confusingly redesignated as Duncroisk 5 carving by the usually efficient Canmore people, we’re sticking with this stone’s original name given by Ronald Morris (1981) in his British Archaeological Report of this and nearby carvings — and a quite fascinating carving this is as well!

C.G. Cash’s drawing
Duncroisk 3 stone

As with many cup-and-rings, erosion and lighting has a powerful effect on seeing the design correctly.  On my visit here in recent months there were quite distinct additional elements in the carving which haven’t been noted by previous archaeologists.  But in saying that, there were also some elements that were reported by the earliest antiquarians that proved difficult to see in the grey light of day when I was here.  The earliest report of the carving by C.G. Cash (1912) told there to be five rings, whereas today only 3 or 4 are visible (though this will probably change when viewed in other lighting conditions).

When Mr Cash told of this stone in his essay on the antiquities of Killin it sounded as if it was lucky to have survived, as it had previously been dug out and left by the roadside, before then being reused by a local to fix a fence-post in!  Mr Cash told us that the local,

“had used it as the foundation stone of the stretching post at the south end of the easternmost fence on the farm, and there I found it, near the brink of the river, buried in sand and turf.  I cleared it and then in pouring rain crouched over it to make a hasty sketch.  It bears eighteen cups, of which five are surrounded by rings.  The largest cups are 2½ inches and the rings 6 inches in diameter.”

Ron Morris’ images

When I visited the place the weather was much the same as Mr Cash described: lovely teeming rain, typical of the mountains, with the surrounding trees breathing moisture onto the slopes as ever.

Years later when Ronald Morris (1981) came here he saw “4 cups-and-one-ring…probably complete rings, up to 12cm (5 in) in diameters and 10 cups up to 2cm deep.”

If you stand and face the stone, the cup-marking on its lower right side (see Morris’ old photo, above) has a pecked line running from it further to the right and down to the edge of the rock.  You can clearly make it out on the top photo.  This carved line also seemed to touch another carved line which can be seen running along the outer edge of the stone — although the poor light didn’t allow me to view this with absolute confidence.  I’ll have another look at it again when I’m up in the area in May and hopefully confirm or deny it with greater confidence (and if anyone else gets here in the meantime, have a look and see what y’ think).

References:

  1. Cash, C.G., “Archaeological Gleanings from Killin,” in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, volume 46, 1911-12.
  2. Morris, Ronald W.B., The Prehistoric Rock Art of Southern Scotland, BAR 86: Oxford 1981.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian