Cup marked rock and round cairn south east of Dobrudden caravan park

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1012681
Date first listed:: 21-Aug-1995

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1012681
Date first listed:: 21-Aug-1995

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Bradford (Metropolitan Authority)
Parish:: Baildon
National Grid Reference:: SE 13790 39936

Reasons for Designation

Rombalds Moor is an eastern outlier of the main Pennine range lying between the valleys of the Wharfe and the Aire. The bulk of this area of 90 sq km of rough moorland lies over 200m above sea level. The moor is particularly rich in remains of prehistoric activity. The most numerous relics are the rock carvings which can be found on many of the boulders and outcrops scattered across the moor. Burial monuments, stone circles and a range of enclosed settlements are also known. Round cairns are prehistoric funerary monuments dating to the Bronze Age (c.2000-700 BC). They were constructed as stone mounds covering single or multiple burials. These burials may be placed within the mound in stone lined compartments called cists. In some cases the cairn was surrounded by a ditch. They are a relatively common feature of the uplands and are the stone equivalent of the earthen round barrows of the lowlands. Their considerable variation in form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisation amongst early prehistoric communities. A substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.

Prehistoric rock carving is found on natural boulders and 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' marking, where small cup-like hollows are worked 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.500BC) 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. All positively identified prehistoric rock carvings sites will normally be identified as nationally important. This cairn survives well and forms an important part of the prehistoric landscape of Baildon Moor. Information on its relationship to the carved rock will be preserved.

Details

The monument includes a carved rock and a small round cairn, south east of Dobrudden caravan park. The cairn has a diameter of 4.5m and a height of 0.4m. It is hollowed in the centre and some stone is visible in the structure. The carved rock is situated on the south east edge of the cairn and is partly covered in vegetation. The visible part measures 1.7m by 0.6m by 0.2m. The carving consists of six cups.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: 25405
Legacy System:: RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Hedges, J D (ed), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, (1986), 52

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.