Cup and groove marked rock near grouse butts on Foldshaw Ridge 905m ESE of Wards End, Middleton Moor
List Entry Summary
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.
Name: Cup and groove marked rock near grouse butts on Foldshaw Ridge 905m ESE of Wards End, Middleton Moor
List entry Number: 1014158
Location
The monument may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
County: North Yorkshire
District: Harrogate
District Type: District Authority
Parish: Middleton
National Park: Not applicable to this List entry.
Grade: Not applicable to this List entry.
Date first scheduled: 30-Apr-1996
Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry.
Legacy System Information
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System: RSM
UID: 28024
Asset Groupings
This list entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information.
List entry Description
Summary of Monument
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
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.
The carving on this rock survives well and forms part of the prehistoric
landscape of Middleton Moor.
History
Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.
Details
The monument includes a carved gritstone rock, mostly covered in vegetation
and level with the ground. An accurate NGR for the monument is SE1135651581.
It is situated on Middleton Moor, near the line of grouse butts on the south
flank of Foldshaw Ridge, between butts numbered five and six and slightly west
of the line of butts.
The visible part of the rock measures 0.7m by 0.3m. The carving consists of
c.17 cups, some of them in grooves.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
Selected Sources
National Grid Reference: SE 11358 51581
Map
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This copy shows the entry on 20-Apr-2018 at 09:41:03.
End of official listing