Tag: symbols

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 07905 47268

Getting Here

For those who like a walk: take the route to reach the Swastika Stone and keep walking west along the Millenium Way footpath, past the Piper’s Stone carving and over the next two walls.  Then, stagger down the steep hill and head for the large upright near-cuboid block of stone and, once here, walk 30 yards to your east!  Alternatively, from the Silsden-side, go along Brown Bank Lane up and past Brown Bank caravan park, and at the second crossroads turn right and travel for exactly 1¼ miles (2km) along Straight Lane (from hereon there’s nowhere to park!) which runs naturally into Moorside Lane, and notice the raised gate entrance into the field on your right. Walk to the top of this field, go through the next gate and, less than 100 yards uphill (south) you’ll find the stone in question.

Archaeology & History

Rediscovered by Paul Bowers in 2011, this is another one of those petroglyphs that’s difficult to make out unless the light is falling just right across the surface of the stone.  Two distinct cup-marks can be seen near the more southern-edge of the stone, one of which has a near-complete, albeit unfinished ring around it, and from this a seemingly carved line runs roughly parallel with the edge of the stone, down towards another equally distinct cup close to the southwestern edge of the rock. Most of the stone is nicely covered in a decent lichen cover, so the design’s a bit difficult to see when the light’s not right.  But, if you’ve made it this far, the petroglyph 30 yards to the west will make up for any disappointment may have!

References:

1. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding Supplement, 2018.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 08675 47067 

Getting Here

Get up to the Swastika Stone, then head west along the footpath towards the Piper Stone.  Shortly before there, you’ll see the small cup-marked Piper’s Crag (3) carving, just by the walling.  From this carving, just step a few yards down the slope and on the smooth sloping rock face is this faded carving. You’ll see it.

Archaeology & History

A larger than normal single cup-mark near the bottom slope of this rock has an incomplete ring around its east and southern edges, possibly with another broken element of it on its northern edge.  It’s difficult to work out whether or not this is one of Nature’s curious markings and so needs looking at in different lights to work it out, one way or the other.  It’s included in Boughey & Vickerman’s (2018) updated rock art survey, but there are a number quite natural cup-marks in that tome, so we need to exercise a little bit of caution here.  However, it does seem to have a greater degree of authenticity than some of the other dubious single cup-marked stones in their book.  Check it out on your way to the Piper’s Stone.

References:

1. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding Supplement, 2018.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Cup-Marked Stone:  OS Grid Reference – SE 08673 47062

Getting Here

Heading up from Ilkley, follow the directions to reach the Swastika Stone, then keep walking (west) along the footpath to the small clump of trees, and keep walking past them too and keep going along the same path as if you’re heading toward the Piper’s Stone.   About 200 yards before reaching it, just where the gate and boundary stone is in the old walling, there’s a small line of crags to the right of your feet and there, at the edge of the path, is the stone in question.  You’ll see it (unless it’s a cloudy gray day, in which case you might struggle).

Archaeology & History

This is one of a number of cup-marked stones that you’ll find scattering this part of the moor, almost all of which are Nature’s handiwork (a few of these natural carvings have somehow found their way into Keith Boughey’s [2018] updated West Riding rock art book).  I’m not 110% certain that this doesn’t have Nature’s name on it either, but it’s got a greater degree of probability to it than some of the others.  It’s a simple little thing, as y’ can see, consisting of just the two cup-marks, smaller than usual, living next to each other.  If it’s the real deal, we can surmise that it may have been carved by a young person back-in-the-days.  In the walling just above this stone you can see the medieval boundary stone, which might—just might—have a prehistoric pedigree to it….

References:

1. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding Supplement, 2018.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Cup-and-Ring Stone (lost):  OS Grid Reference – SE 0965 4797

Archaeology & History

In Ronald Morris’ (1989) gazetteer of British petroglyphs, he included this curious entry but gave no real details regarding its appearance or history.  Listed by the Royal Commission lads, it would seem to have been located immediately south of the dismantled railway where it used to cross the Addingham-Ilkley road, but no one seems to have seen it either before or since Morris’ description.  Any help regarding its whereabouts would be appreciated.

References:

1. Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Wakefield 2003.
2. Morris, Ronald W.B., “The Prehistoric Rock Art of Great Britain: A Survey of All Sites Bearing Motifs more Complex than Simple Cup-marks,” in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, volume 55, 1989.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian