Ancient Monuments

History on the Ground

This site is entirely user-supported. See how you can help.

A carved rock with at least 12 cups, 560m north of Brier Dykes, Baldersdale

A Scheduled Monument in Hunderthwaite, County Durham

We don't have any photos of this monument yet. Why don't you be the first to send us one?

Upload Photo »

Approximate Location Map
Large Map »

If Google Street View is available, the image is from the best available vantage point looking, if possible, towards the location of the monument. Where it is not available, the satellite view is shown instead.

Coordinates

Latitude: 54.577 / 54°34'37"N

Longitude: -2.0744 / 2°4'27"W

OS Eastings: 395285.67862

OS Northings: 520196.567615

OS Grid: NY952201

Mapcode National: GBR FHYJ.P2

Mapcode Global: WHB4B.37F2

Entry Name: A carved rock with at least 12 cups, 560m north of Brier Dykes, Baldersdale

Scheduled Date: 19 March 1999

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1016591

English Heritage Legacy ID: 32094

County: County Durham

Civil Parish: Hunderthwaite

Traditional County: Yorkshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): County Durham

Details

The monument includes a prehistoric carved rock on the north side of
Baldersdale. It is situated 560m north of Brier Dykes, on the south slope of a
ridge, just north of a bank and ditch which predates the modern fieldwalls.
The rock is level with the ground and is partly covered by turf and moss; the
visible part measures 0.46m by 0.46m. The carving consists of at least 12
cups, of which at least five are joined by a curving groove. The carving is
partly obscured by the moss and turf.

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 carving on the rock 560m north of Brier Dykes survives well and it is one
of several carved rocks on the north side of Baldersdale. It will contribute
to the study of prehistoric carved rocks in Britain.

Source: Historic England

Other nearby scheduled monuments

AncientMonuments.uk is an independent online resource and is not associated with any government department. All government data published here is used under licence. Please do not contact AncientMonuments.uk for any queries related to any individual ancient or schedued monument, planning permission related to scheduled monuments or the scheduling process itself.

AncientMonuments.uk is a Good Stuff website.