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'. Pecked lines or grooves can
also exist in isolation from cup and ring decoration. 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 carved, earthfast, coarse sandstone rock near the
north eastern edge of Ecclesall Wood. The rock is situated approximately 70m
north east of a junction of two footpaths which run through the wood from
north to south.
The carving on the slightly domed upper surface of the rock consists of three
sub-oval, deeply cut rings, each surrounding one to four shallower cups
connected by gutters. The central ring with its internal cups has been
emphasised by cutting away the sandstone on three sides to form a raised oval
boss. This feature is possibly unique and illustrates that the carving was
designed with visual prominence in mind rather than being executed purely as a
ceremonial act. Other unusual features of the carving are the gutters near the
edge of the slab which surround much of the carving. Internal gutters
subdivide the slab into several irregular, enclosure-like, zones.
The various elements of the carving are not cut to a consistent depth,
frequently shallow features being intersected by deeper ones. This feature
indicates that the carving was not executed as a unitary design but was been
modified over time. There are several irregular patches of shallow carving on
the slab which may represent attempts to cut away obtrusive features of
earlier designs. Elsewhere on the slab they serve to emphasise particular
features.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
29932
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals
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.
End of official list entry
