Tag: neolithic

Currer Woods Stone, Steeton, West Yorkshire

megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 0251 4384

Getting Here

On the opposite side of the road (B6265) from Airedale General Hospital, Steeton, you’ll notice a footpath going up the field into some woods.  Go up here.  Once you come out the top of the woods, follow the dodgy path on your right (west) along the rocky edges for 250 yards, following the edges of the field walling.  You’ll eventually reach the field with lots of rocks in it.  It’s the field before this one, close to the walling.  Look around!

Archaeology & History

I’ve been a little cautious about putting this carving on TNA simply because it seems to be an isolated example and was a little unsure about its veracity.  If I’d have found the stone on the edges of Ilkley Moor, Rivock Edge, or the heights above Askwith, I wouldn’t have hesitated.  The fact that no other carvings occur nearby has been my main trouble.  But I suppose if the carving turns out to be nowt of the sort, I can discard it at a future date and, of course, make sure that a lot of other cup-and-ring stones are disregarded at the same time (there are a number of other designs much less defined than this one which have been okayed by archaeo’s who’ve been into this subject for much shorter periods of time than myself).  But less of the waffle!

Currer Wood Carving, Steeton
Currer Wood Carving, Steeton

When we first found this, in April 2009, I was out looking for the remains of an old well (called Jane Well, a few hundred yards west of here).  The heaven’s opened and I ended up in the woodland and then found the field full of large rocks, some seemingly used by man in more recent centuries, atop of the woods, and so had to check them out!  But this was one of the first stones we found.

Currer Woods Stone
Currer Woods Stone

The rock itself, as the photo shows, appears to have had one end of it split or broken off (not unlike one edge of the Hanging Stones, Ilkley Moor) at some time in the past, intruding on the arc, or line, beneath which are two distinct ‘cups’.  A possible third cup-marking and other linear aspects seem apparent, with the design giving the distinct impression of a face.  I keep meaning to go back and get a rubbing of the carving, but aint got round to it yet.  When (if!) I gerrit done, I’ll add it onto this profile.

And although there are said to be no other prehistoric remains close to this old carving, the fields a coupla hundred yards west used to be called the Barrow Fields, where tombs were once found; and a little further along the same geological ridge atop of the excellent Kirk rocks, possible cup-markings scatter the edges of two sections — but they’re a little dubious; then there’s the Dragon Stone and associated cup-marked stone not far away.  In the adjacent woods are the remains of old walling, but I’ve not found other carvings hereabouts.  However, the rule tends to be: “where there’s one, there are more!”

Watch this space!

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Addlebrough (1), Thornton Rust Moor, North Yorkshire

megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SD 948 879

Getting Here

This takes a bitta getting to and won’t really be worthwhile unless you’re a rock-art nut!  I s’ppose if you’re looking at the other decent cup-and-ring stones on the summit of Addlebrough, it might be worth looking at.  In which case, walk a coupla hundred yards southeast towards where the walling meets and climb over.  The walk a little further in the same direction and once you’ve gone less than 100 yards, look around.  You can’t really miss it if you potter about.

Archaeology & History

Single cup-marked stone (photo by Richard Stroud)
Single cup-marked stone (photo by Richard Stroud)

This possible single cup-marked stone appears to have been discovered before me ‘n Richard Stroud got to the spot, by none other than Stan Beckensall himself — or at least it’s in Stan’s Prehistoric Rock Art of County Durham, Swaledale and Wensleydale book, where he describes it as it only can be done: “a single possible cup-marked stone…SSE of the summit cairn”, which is where you find this. (Another single cup-marked stone found nearby by Barbara Brown aint the same one as this.)

References:

  1. Beckensall, S. & Laurie, T., Prehistoric Rock Art of County Durham, Swaledale and Wensleydale, County Durham Books 1998.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Pathway Stone, Holden, Silsden, West Yorkshire

megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 07021 44884

Also Known as:

  1. Rough Holden CR-9

Getting Here

Pathway Stone, Holden, Rivock

Follow the footpath running from the Rivock TV mast northwest, where it cuts diagonally across the field, heading towards the drystone wall.  About 200 yards before the walling – stop! It’s just to your right-hand side, very close by!

Archaeology & History

First discovered in July 2009 when Keighley volunteer, Michala Potts of Bracken Bank, did further ramblings amidst the long grasses hereabouts.  Its name comes from the fact that it’s found just next to the footpath that cuts across Rough Holden from the TV mast beneath Rivock.  The carving’s a very simple plain design, as the photos show, with just three faded cup-markings etched onto the stones northeast face.

Close-up of cup-markings

This stone aint too far from the cup-marked Dump Stone and the nearby Rough Holden design, but all across the Holden Rough grasslands are the faded remains of old pit-workings.  It makes you wonder just how many other carvings once existed across this flatland.  The fact that this and the other ones nearby still remain is damn fortunate!

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Dane’s Stone, Moulin, Pitlochry, Perthshire

megalithix

Standing Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 9425 5942

Also Known as:

  1. Pitfourie Stone

Getting Here

Dane's Stone under a brilliant sky
Dane’s Stone under a brilliant sky

Going thru Pitlochry town, turn up the A924 road for about a mile till you hit the Moulin Inn on your left-hand side.  Just past here, take the road left and continue for 2-300 yards until the stone in the field stands out on your right-hands side.  Y’ can’t really miss it!

Archaeology & History

I should mebbe have this site entered as a ‘stone circle’ and not just an old monolith, as numerous other standing stones were in close attendant not too long ago and it was said to have been a circle.   Certainly when the great Fred Coles (1908) talked about this place, he

“was informed by the tenant, Mr Reid…that many years ago, in his grandfather’s time, “there were several more stones standing”, all smaller than this monolith and that, upon the orders given by Mrs Grant Ferguson of Baledmund, some of these were saved from total demolition, and are supposed to be lying half-buried in the field to this day.”

...and here's the big man close-up
…and here’s the big man close-up

Though I imagine these remnants have now been removed.  Aerial images, when conditions are just right, might prove fruitful here.

But the solitary stone still standing here is quite a big fella.  Heavily encrusted with quartz and more than 7 feet tall, it’s a nice fat chunky thing, with its lower half being somewhat slimmer than the top.  Well worth having a look at!

Folklore

Once an old moot site, folklore also tells that an old market was once held here (there was some other folklore I had of this place, but can’t for the life of me find it at the moment!).

References:

  1. Coles, Fred R., ‘Report on Stone Circles Surveyed in Perthshire,’ in PSAS 42, 1908.
  2. Liddell, Colin, Pitlochry: Heritage of a Highland District, PKPL: Perth 1993.
  3. Reid, A., ‘Monumental Remains in Pitlochry District,’ in PSAS 46, 1912.

Links:

  1. Stravaiging Round Scotland

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Balnakeilly Stone, Moulin, Pitlochry, Perthshire

megalithix

Standing Stone:  OS Grid Reference – NN 9463 5943

Getting Here

As you go through Pitlochry’s main street, watch out for the right-turn up the A924 road.  Go up here for perhaps a mile.  You’ll know you’re getting close as you pass the Moulin pub and the seeming avenue of trees opens on either side of the road.  A coupla hundred yards up into the trees, there’s the left-turn up the Balnakeilly driveway.  Stop! It’s on your left.

Archaeology & History

The Balnakeilly Monolith
The Balnakeilly Monolith

Knocking on for nine-feet tall, there’s some debate as to the archaic authenticity on this standing stone.  Ian Armit and his mate (1998) certainly wondered whether this was an ancient stone or not and, gotta say, when I came up here a coupla weeks back, I got the same impression.  It doesn’t have that feel about it which comes from the real olde ones; but this could be due to it having been moved in the not-too-distant past.  Though when Alan Reid wrote about it in 1911 he told us that,

“it bears marks of having been…worked slightly into shape by some pointed tool whose traces are plainly seen on several of its angles.”

Not something you’d find on monoliths that are a few thousand years old!  But if this stone was moved when the entrance to Balnakeilly drive was done, or the road widened, this could account for such markings.  We could do with digging into any archives that may exist about Balnakeilly or the Pitlochry roads to see if there’s any record of this stone to end the debate once and for all.  Tis a good site to visit though – check it out!

References:

  1. Armit, I. & Johnson, M., ‘Balnakeilly (Moulin parish), ‘modern standing stone’,’ in Discovery and Excavation in Scotland, 1998.
  2. Reid, Alan, ‘Monumental Remains in Pitlochry District,’ in PSAS 46, 1911-12.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Yarmer Head, Nidd, North Yorkshire

megalithix

Standing Stone (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – SE 299 612

Also Known as:

  1. Temple Yarmer

Archaeology & History

It was the legendary Harry Speight who described this in his monumental historico-topographical exploration of the Nidd valley in the 1890s.  Nothing else, it seems, has been said of the place, though something of considerable archaeological importance was once here.  Not only does he tell of the previous existence of “a large circular enclosure…the outer ditch having a circumference of nearly 1000 yards” at Yarmer Head, but,

“In the hollow on the east side of this hill was formerly a large natural marsh or lakelet, near which remains the base of an immense menhir or standing monolith, erected doubtless in heathen days to commemorate a great victory, or perhaps a treaty.”

The stone is not shown on the early OS-maps (although they did miss quite a lot of sites), and whatever its reason for being here might never be known as all traces of this giant monolith appears (yet again) to have vanished. There is an ancient boundary line immediately below the hill, on its eastern side, so perhaps the stone was an ancient marker along this.  Do any local folk round Nidd know owt more about this once important megalithic site?

References:

  1. Speight, Harry, Nidderdale and the Garden of the Nidd, Elliot Stock: London 1894.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Cunninghar, Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire

megalithix

Stone Circle (destroyed):  OS Grid Reference – NS 9256 9709

Also Known as:

  1. Druidical Temple

Archaeology & History

A stone circle was once to be found on the elevated piece of ground above the north-side of the main road between Tillicoultry and Dollar, but it was sadly destroyed sometime in the 19th century.  Listed in Aubrey Burl’s (2000) magnum opus, we have very little information about the place; though an account of the site was described in the Scottish Royal Commission report (1933) which told us that a —

“Stone circle, measuring about 60 feet in diameter, once stood here but was completely removed many years ago, when the stones, which are said to have been 5½ feet in average height, were taken to cover a built drain at Tillicoultry House”!

Site shown on 1866 OS-map
Stone at the destroyed site

Unbelievable!  Any decent local folk nearby wanna find out where this drain is, see if the stones are visible (though I doubt they are), so we can plan to uproot it and move the stones back somewhere nearby. There are a few decent spots on the slopes above where it would look good!

When visited by researchers in the 1890s, parts of an embankment which surrounded the destroyed circle were still visible.  Also, indicating there was some ritual funerary nature to the site, a local teacher called Mr Christie found the remains of an ornamented urn protruding through the ground next to where one of the monoliths had stood.  Unfortunately in his attempts to remove the urn, much of it crumbled away.

Further examinations thereafter found that a burial was (seemingly) beneath the centre of the circle; and excavations here found that a covering stone of the tomb was covered in intricate cup-and-ring designs (see the Tillicoultry House Carving for further details).  Other prehistoric remains were found a little further up the hill from here.

References:

  1. Burl, Aubrey, The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, Yale University Press 2000.
  2. Morris, Ronald W.B., The Prehistoric Rock Art of Southern Scotland, BAR 86: Oxford 1981.
  3. Robertson, R., ‘Notice of the Discovery of a Stone Cist and Urns at the Cuninghar, Tillicoultry…’, in PSAS 29, 1895.
  4. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan, HMSO: Edinburgh 1933.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Enclosure Carving, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

megalithix

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 12836 46147

Also Known as:

  1. Carving no.129 (Hedges)
  2. Carving no.288 (Boughey & Vickerman)

Getting Here

Enclosure Stone design (after Hedges 1986)
Enclosure Stone design (after Hedges 1986)

Nice n’ easy.  Get to the Haystack Rock and walk on the path west (past the Three Cups Stone) and where the path swings round following the edge of the small Backstone valley, keep going for 150 yards or so.  Keep your eyes out for the remains of walling in the Green Crag Settlement on your left.  This flat stone is amidst the heather in and amongst the enclosure (hence the name).  If you walk back and forth hereabouts for a short period, checking for flat stones amidst the heather about 20 yards off the path, you’ll find it!

Archaeology & History

Top-left section of CR-288 - note the carved line 'enclosing' the cups which aint on the archaeo-drawings
Top-left section of CR-288

This is another one of those carvings which had been seen by a number of people, bimbling about across this part of the moor, before it saw the literary light of day in Hedges Carved Rocks book (1986).  It’s a nicely-preserved design, usually covered over by much heather growth, but is worth the exploration if you like your cup&rings.  The drawing of this stone however (in both Hedges and Boughey & Vickerman) does not convey the actuality of the carving, as we can see here.  But that’s the case with many cup-and-rings: linear precision and the artisty of the carving are two very different things.  As we can see here, one section of the stone has a defined ‘enclosure’ of cups etched upon the rock surface: something that is clearly missed in the archaeologist’s drawing.  Check it out y’self and see what you think!

References:

  1. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
  2. Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Cnoc a’ Chuirn Mhoir, Jura, Argyll

megalithix

Cairn:  OS Grid Reference – NR 68298 94211

Archaeology & History

This ‘hill of the big cairn’ is near the top end of the island, past the cup-marked stones of An Carn, just beneath the top of the prominent knoll, a half-mile east of the track.  It’s about 200 yards from the summit on the southern side of the hill.  More than 50 feet across and about 3 feet high, what may be kerb-stones can be seen on the west-side of the tomb.  The Royal Commission (1984) lads tell us that,

“its northern edge is buried under field-gathered stones, and a small enclosure of comparatively recent date overlies the cairn.”

References:

  1. Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland, Argyll: volume 5 – Islay, Jura, Colonsay and Oronsay, HMSO: Edinburgh 1984.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian


Snowden Carr Carving (571), Timble, North Yorkshire

megalithix

Cup-Marked Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 17776 51293

Getting Here

Take the same directions as to reach the Snowden Crags Necropolis, and where the small rounded hill rises up on the eastern end of the plain, look around and you’ll find the stone in question.

Archaeology & History

Up near the edge of the Snowden Moor settlement, just a few yards away from Carving-570, is this medium-sized earthfast boulder with what seems to be three or four cup-markings on its western-face. Boughey & Vickerman (2003) describe the stone as with a “deep gully, cups and enlarged cup, perhaps weathered carving but could be natural” — which seems a reasonable assessment. Certainly the cups seem weathered, although a couple of them may have been man-made.  At the side of the rock are the remains of a small cairn, and it is positioned next to the beginning of the Snowden Moor Cemetery.

References:

  1. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
  2. Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way: A Prehistory of Mid-Wharfedale, William Walker: Otley 1946.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian