Two carved rocks at the west corner of Raven Stones Plantation on Rocking Moor, 400m west of Brae

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 carvings on these rocks survive well and form an important part of the prehistoric landscape of the Skyreholme area, where there is a group of carved rocks which are outliers from the denser concentrations north of the River Wharfe, further to the south east.

Details

The monument includes two carved gritstone rocks, part of an outcrop. They are situated on Rocking Moor, in Raven Stones Plantation, near the west corner. They are 8m apart. The easternmost rock measures 5m x 4m x 4.5m. The carving consists of two cups, one with a short descending groove. The westernmost rock is 29m south east of the east corner of the plantation. It measures 4.5m x 3m x 1.8m. The carving consists of at least six cups.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

29138

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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