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 a cup and ring marked stone situated in open moorland on
a gentle north facing slope. It lies on the west side of Feldom Rigg Lane and
to the north of the field wall which crosses Feldom Rigg from south west to
north east. It consists of a roughly rectangular grey sandstone slab 1.55m by
1.05m wide. The upper surface of the stone has been decorated with a large
number of carvings. They include approximately 20 cup marks linked by linear
grooves extending across the length of the stone. Three roughly central cups
also bear single ring marks. The monument is one of a group of prehistoric
carved stones on Gayles Moor.
Its grid reference by Global Positioning System is NZ1128605905.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
24556
Legacy System:
RSM
End of official list entry
