Ancient Monuments

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A carved rock between The Stang Forest boundary wall and Woodclose Gill, 750m south east of Far East Hope, Barningham Moor

A Scheduled Monument in Hope, County Durham

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Coordinates

Latitude: 54.4724 / 54°28'20"N

Longitude: -1.9311 / 1°55'51"W

OS Eastings: 404562.203127

OS Northings: 508562.383187

OS Grid: NZ045085

Mapcode National: GBR GJYQ.QJ

Mapcode Global: WHB4S.9VP8

Entry Name: A carved rock between The Stang Forest boundary wall and Woodclose Gill, 750m south east of Far East Hope, Barningham Moor

Scheduled Date: 24 October 1997

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1017417

English Heritage Legacy ID: 30496

County: County Durham

Civil Parish: Hope

Traditional County: Yorkshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): County Durham

Church of England Parish: Barningham St Michael and All Angels

Church of England Diocese: Leeds

Details

The monument includes a prehistoric carved rock on the east side of The Stang
boundary wall and west of Woodclose Gill. It consists of a large flat
rectangular sandstone rock aligned north east-south west. The visible area
measures 2m by 0.8m, but the south west end is covered in turf. The carving
consists of at least 15 cup marks and two rectangular grooves, incomplete and
lightly pecked out. Evidence of at least three other incomplete grooves is
visible.

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.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

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.

The prehistoric carved rock 750m south east of Far East Hope is in good
condition and displays a wide variety of motifs. It will therefore contribute
to our knowledge of prehistoric rock art in the north of England.

Source: Historic England

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