Reasons for Designation
Prehistoric rock art is found on natural rock outcrops in many areas of upland
Britain. It is especially common in the north of England in Northumberland,
Durham and North and West Yorkshire. The most common form of decoration is the
`cup and ring' marking where expanses of small cup-like hollows are pecked
into the surface of the rock. These cups may be surrounded by one or more
`rings'. Single pecked lines extending from the cup through the `rings' may
also exist, providing the design with a `tail'. Other shapes and patterns also
occur, but are less frequent. Carvings may occur singly, in small groups, or
may cover extensive areas of rock surface. They date to the Late Neolithic and
Bronze Age periods (2800-c.500 BC) and provide one of our most important
insights into prehistoric `art'. The exact meaning of the designs remains
unknown, but they may be interpreted as sacred or religious symbols.
Frequently they are found close to contemporary burial monuments and the
symbols are also found on portable stones placed directly next to burials or
incorporated in burial mounds. Around 800 examples of prehistoric rock-art
have been recorded in England. This is unlikely to be a realistic reflection
of the number carved in prehistory. Many will have been overgrown or destroyed
in activities such as quarrying. All positively identified prehistoric rock
art sites exhibiting a significant group of designs will normally be
identified as nationally important.
Details
The monument includes an area of bedrock which outcrops in at least seven
places with many groups of cupmarks and several cup and ring marks visible on
its surface. The outcrops form a low ridge which extends for 101m north-east
to south-west along the crest of Chirnells Moor and for 28m north-west to
south-east. The rocks bear a wide variety of combinations of cupmarks
distributed in lines, in large clusters and occurring in isolation, measuring
in general 6cm in diameter. One of the rocks at the south-eastern end of the
ridge bears at least 38 single cupmarks. A few of the cupmarks are surrounded
by rings; one of the rocks contains six such features. Other features typical
of cup and ring marked rocks in the area are faint linear features and large
shallow basins, one of the latter measuring 22cm across.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
20886
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
