Cup and ring marked rock known as the Knotties Stone on Otley Chevin, 270m north east of The Royalty public house

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 an important part of the prehistoric landscape of the Aire valley. The rock is one of several outliers from the main concentration of carved rocks on Rombalds Moor.

Details

The monument includes a carved gritstone rock, partly covered in heather. The visible part measures 1.3m by 0.8m by 0.5m. It is situated on Otley Chevin, north of the path from Danefield House to Beacon House, west of a path junction. It is 16m from a wall corner, and 1m west of the line of the wall if the latter is projected on the moor. An accurate National Grid Reference is SE 20771 44182. The carving consists of three incomplete concentric rings, with a groove to the centre. The groove has a cup at its outer end, and there is one other cup, and suggestions of other rings elsewhere on the rock.

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.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

29121

Legacy System:

RSM

End of official list entry

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