Summary
Two rock art panels bearing numerous cup marks, of Neolithic/early Bronze Age date.
Reasons for Designation
The prehistoric rock art west of Middle House is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Survival: despite susceptibility to natural weathering, it is reasonably well preserved with the survival of large numbers of relatively well-defined motifs;
* Documentation: ritual and religious sites of Prehistoric Britain are without contemporary documentation and hence the value of the archaeological remains as our only evidence of their belief systems is enhanced;
* Diversity: these panels displays a complex arrangement of individual cup marks scattered across their surfaces, some appearing to form curved or straight lines; the focus on this individual motif at the expense of a wider variety of motifs is unusual and contributes to their importance;
* Potential: it will inform our knowledge of prehistoric society through individual study of its motifs and carving style, and through an increased understanding of the circumstances in which rock art was created and used;
* Group value: taken together with the three scheduled Bronze Age round cairns in the immediate vicinity, it will enhance our understanding of wider Bronze Age ritual and funerary practice.
History
The term prehistoric rock art is most commonly applied to a specific style of carvings created in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age (approximately 3800 BC to 1500 BC). This type of carving shares a limited set of motifs, with numerous variations around the main themes, and is found throughout northern Europe in a wide range of contexts, from isolated natural outcrops to burial cairns and standing stones. The most common form of motifs are the simple ‘cup mark’ (a shallow bowl-shaped depression a few centimetres across) and the ‘cup and ring’ (a cup mark surrounded by one or more concentric circular grooves); many carvings also incorporate or are framed within linear grooves. Other shapes and patterns such as keyholes and rosettes also occur, but are less frequent. Motifs may occur singly, in small groups, or may cover extensive areas of rock surface. The exact meaning of the designs remains unknown and a wide range of interpretations have been suggested, but they appear to be abstract and held some unknown, possibly sacred meaning for those who created and observed them. Over 5000 separate rock art sites are known in Britain of which more than half are in England and while some examples do occur further south, they are mainly confined to the upland areas of the north.
Details
Both panels are earth-fast sandstone boulders and are situated in an area of unmanaged grassland and lie adjacent to each other. They are located about 95m south west of the westernmost of a group of three scheduled Bronze Age round cairns (National Heritage List entries 1008420-1008422) and immediately east of a possible stone-lined cist. The first and most northerly panel (ERA 1415) is roughly triangular in shape and dips steeply into the ground from an uncovered high point on its south edge; it is about 0.8m by 0.5m and is oriented east to west. There are about thirty cup marks scattered across the boulder and some appear to form slightly curved or straight lines. The second panel (ERA 1414) lies immediately to the south of the first, and is a rounded boulder about 0.9m across. there are more than fifty cup marks, again some forming prominent lines, curved arcs or more scattered groups; the latter are particularly clustered on the south and west sides. It is possible that the panels represent a broken, decorated cist cover.
Sources
Books and journals Websites http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/era/section/access/results.jsf
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
