Details

The monument includes a cup and ring marked stone situated in open moorland on
level ground approximately 20m south east of the field wall which runs north
east to south west across Feldom Rigg. It consists of a flat roughly
rectangular slab of grey sandstone, 1.55m by 0.75m wide, partially concealed
in thick heather. The upper surface of the stone is decorated with five well
preserved cup marks. Four of these cup marks also have single ring marks
surrounding them and three of them also include linear grooves extending
towards the edges of the upper surface. The stone is one of a small group of
prehistoric carved stones situated in the immediate vicinity of a ring cairn
on Gayles Moor. Its grid reference by Global Postioning System is
NZ1187205891.

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'. 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.

This is a well preserved cup and ring marked stone, surviving in its original
location as part of a larger group of these stones and in close association
with a ring cairn. It will also contribute to an understanding of the wider
groupings of these stones.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Laurie, T,

Source: Historic England