Cup-and-Ring Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 0845 4529
Archaeology & History
Discovered by Stuart Feather in the late 1950s, this was one of two carvings found very close to each other (see Bucking Hill 2) whose exact location are unknown (the grid-reference cited here is a reasonably accurate approximation). In his short article where he mentions the Bucking Hill 2 carving, he then told of,
Sid Jackson’s vague drawing of the carving
“the discovery a few yards away of a small stone bearing a cup-and-ring mark providing evidence for at least one other symbol from this small hill. This stone, only 14in long, 8in wide, and 6½in thick, has a cup 1¾in in diameter, ⅞in deep with a shallow channel 1½ long running from it.
“Round the cup, which is very symmetrical and has the pecking clearly defined, is part of a concentric channel which, if it were a complete circle, would have a diameter of 4in. The channel, which starts near to the small channel that runs from the cup, goes only halfway round the cup and is obviously unfinished. It is irregular in width and depth and in marked contrast to the workmanship of the cup.”
He then queries as to whether this small carved stone could have come off the larger cup-marked Bucking Hill (02) boulder close by. We may never know, but when we consider the lack of general erosion on this cup-and-ring (the pecking was still visible), it would obviously have remained upside-down in the peat for a few thousand years! There was an old cairn a short distance away on the top of Bucking Hill and it may have come from there. Anyhow, Mr Feather subsequenly took this portable carving home with him and it’s subsequently been donated to the Ilkley Manor House Museum where it should be visible. (can someone send us a photo so we can add it to the site profile?)
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
Feather, Stuart, “Mid-Wharfedale Cup-and-Ring Markings – Nos 21 and 22: Bucking Hill, High Moor, Rombald’s Moor,” in Bradford Cartwright Hall Archaeology Group Bulletin, 9:5, 1964.
Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 0844 4529
Archaeology & History
This was one of two carvings reported by Stuart Feather (1964) that were very close to each other (see Bucking Hill 3), both of which consisted of simplistic designs but which, he thought, may once have been part of the same rock. Its precise whereabouts are not known (the grid-ref is an approximation). He wrote:
“On the southern slopes of Bucking Hill, a fine gritstone rock 5ft 6in by 4ft 6in by 1ft 6in high, has a very clear cup-mark 2in in diameter and ½in deep carved 8in from the straight eastern edge of the rock.”
Feather thought that the edge of the rock had been cut and quarried for use in the boundary wall to the east. He may have been right.
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
Feather, Stuart, “Mid-Wharfedale Cup-and-Ring Markings – Nos 21 and 22: Bucking Hill, High Moor, Rombald’s Moor,” in Bradford Cartwright Hall Archaeology Group Bulletin, 9:5, 1964.
Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Cup-and-Ring Stone (lost): OS Grid Reference – SE 0828 4507
Archaeology & History
Described by Boughey & Vickerman (2003) as being located somewhere “below Dirk Hill Sike” in the Rivock woods plantation, this is (or was) a “medium, upstanding rock lying NW-SE (with) one possible heavily weathered large cup-and-ring: cup 75mm diam. and ring 200mm diam.” However, the authors give no references to this site, nor images, or notes as to who rediscovered this stone. In their survey they also included one of the Bucking Hill carvings twice, giving the impression that there was more here than had previously been reported. These errors have subsequently been repeated elsewhere on-line. In saying this, there are a number of rocks scattered in this area which may have had carvings on them, but it’s been heavily forested and, recently, the trees have been felled and so many of them will have been damaged, turned over, or simply destroyed as a result of the forestry shennanigans.
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
Coming via the Keighley-Bingley (Airedale) B6265 road, go up to Riddlesden and then up the winding Banks Lane until you reach the T-junction. Turn left here and about 330 yards along, on the right-side of the road is a dirt-track. Walk up here, sticking to the track (not the footpath) towards the cliffs of Rivock ahead of you, going through the gate and into the Rivock woods area. 450 yards on from the gate, on your right you’ll pass the long straight line of walling running uphill and literally 275 yards further along the track from here, walk straight up into the trees for 20 yards where, just before the slope begins to truly veer into an “uphill” state, you’ll see the stone in question!
Archaeology & History
Cups on east-side of stone
In 1961 when Stuart Feather rediscovered this carving, the “rock was almost completely covered by a six-inch layer of peat and vegetation.” But, like all good rock art explorers, he slowly and carefully peeled it all back and brought back to light another one of Rivock’s olde stories. We know not what the story on the rock might tell, but it looks good nonetheless! Feather counted “several cups carved on it”, but a few more have ben discerned since then. When Boughey & Vickerman (2003) described it in their typically minimalist way, they told it be a “large square rock with surface in slope of hill. About nineteen cups.” Evocative stuff!
Sketch of basic designFaint line visible, left-side
When I first saw visited this carving as a young lad, the thing which stood out to me more than anything was the long but faint line that ran down one section of the stone. Added to this was an equally faint arc attached to the side of the line, like a “D” form. A few months later I did a sketch of it on my second visit, but I’ve looked and looked and seem to have lost it. (not good) The one I’ve done here is a recent one. As we can see, a series of cup-marks straddle each side of the D-line and are plainly visible, which implies that the line was carved much earlier than the cups. Of course, it’s possible that the cups were repeatedly forged over and over many times over a century or more and the D-line, for whatever reason, left untouched.
Another interesting aspect of this D-line is its repetition in the much more ornate petroglyph 35 yards to the east (presently known as Rivock 67 until we devise something more appropriate). The recently rediscovered Slinger Stone 100 yards south may also have the same feature, but this needs further surveying before we can say for sure.
References:
Bennett, Paul, ‘The Prehistoric Rock Art and Megalithic Remains of Rivock & District (2 parts),’ in Earth, 3-4, 1986.
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
Feather, Stuart, ‘Mid-Wharfedale Cup-and-Ring Markings: No. 14, Rivock,’ in Cartwright Hall Archaeology Group Bulletin, 7:1, 1962.
Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks on Rombald’s Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Acknowledgements: With thanks to Andy Roberts for giving this stone its modern name.
Numerous ways to get here, it’s probably the easiest (direction wise) to reach here starting from Dick Hudson’s public house on the southern road surrounding Rombalds Moor. From the pub, head left (east) along Otley Road (passing Weecher reservoir) for 1.9 miles (3.1km) until you reach Reva reservoir where a track leads you to the waters. A small parking spot is on the left-side of the road. From here, go through the gate and up the footpath (north) for about 200 yards then turn right and go up the field towards the wall where, about 20 yards before it, you’ll see find the stone in question.
Archaeology & History
This long earthfast stone has two distinct cup-markings: one near its northern upper end, and the other near the lower southern end, as highlighted on the above photo. (forgive the poor image, but we took it when the sun was pretty high in the sky) It seems as if there are two or three other very faint cup-marks on the upper end of the stone, close to the most distinct one, but none of our photos show them with any clarity.
Acknowledgements: Huge thanks to Sarah Walker and Thomas Cleland for help with location and imagery for this stone.
Cup-and-Ring Stone (lost): OS Grid Reference – SE 0965 4797
Archaeology & History
In Ronald Morris’ (1989) gazetteer of British petroglyphs, he included this curious entry but gave no real details regarding its appearance or history. Listed by the Royal Commission lads, it would seem to have been located immediately south of the dismantled railway where it used to cross the Addingham-Ilkley road, but no one seems to have seen it either before or since Morris’ description. Any help regarding its whereabouts would be appreciated.
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Wakefield 2003.
Morris, Ronald W.B., “The Prehistoric Rock Art of Great Britain: A Survey of All Sites Bearing Motifs more Complex than Simple Cup-marks,” in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, volume 55, 1989.
The best/easiest way to approach this and the Rivock carvings as a whole is to reach the Silsden Road that curves round the southern edge of Rombalds Moor (whether it’s via East Morton, Riddlesden, Keighley or Silsden) and keep your eyes peeled for the singular large windmill. About 200 yards east of this is a small parking spot, big enough for a half-dozen vehicles. From here walk 450 yards east along the road till you hit the dirt-track/footpath up towards the moor. Follow the track up for about 400 yards and you’ll see the crags a half-mile ahead of you. Get up there to the Wondjina Stone and follow the walling east for about 175 yards where you’ll see a track-cum-clearing in the woods. Walk along and the first large stone on your left is what you’re after.
Archaeology & History
I first visited this carving in my teenage years in the 1970s, before the intrusive so-called “private” forest covered this landscape and when its petroglyphic compatriots were easier to find. Thankfully this one’s still pretty accessible and possesses a damn good clear design. It was rediscovered in the 1960s by Stuart Feather and his gang, zigzagging their way across the open moors, pulling back the heather to see what they might find. His description of it told how the stone,
“has two roughly level areas, one 18ins and the other 2 feet above ground level. Both (levels) have several well-preserved cup-and-ring markings on them. There are eight single cup-and-rings and 18 cups, two of the latter being joined by a clear channel seven inches long and 1½ inches wide. Nearly all the markings are unusually well preserved and the pocking marks are very clear.”
Note the line running down
He also had “the impression that all the markings on this stone and possibly one other similar stone in the Rivock area have been carved by the same hand, as all the symbols are nearly identical in in type, size and execution.” (this other carving he’s referring to seems to be one about 170 yards to the north, where occasionally “offerings” have been found)
The design from E-W
When John Hedges (1986) and his team checked the stone out he could only make out “seven cups with single rings, twenty two other cups”; whilst the ever descriptive Boughey & Vickerman (2003) saw “twenty-nine cups, eight with single rings.” Eight cup-and-rings is what most people see when the light’s right. There’s also a long, bent carved line on the lower level of the rock, running from near the middle of the stone out to the very edge. It seems to be man-made (although I may be wrong) – and I draw attention to it as this same feature exists on at least three of the other large and very ornamental cup-and-rings hereby within 300 yards of each other – and on these other carvings the long “line” is definitely artificial. Tis an intriguing characteristic…
Stuart Feather’s old sketch
When visiting this petroglyph you’ll notice how some of the carved elements on top of the stone are more eroded than those on the lower section. This is due to the fact that the lower section was only revealed by Feather and his team in the mid-20th century, after it had been covered in soil for countless centuries. As a result you can still see the peck-marks left by the implements that were used to make the carving, perhaps 5000 years ago!
The name of the stone was inspired by a local lady who saw an astronomical function in the design (I quite like it as well). Examples of petroglyphs representing myths of heavenly bodies have been described first-hand in some tribal cultures and, nowadays, even a number of archaeologists are making allusions about potential celestial features in some carvings in the British Isles. That doesn’t mean to say that it’s correct, but the idea’s far from unreasonable…
Anyhow – check this one out when you’re next up here. You’ll like it!
References:
Bennett, Paul, “The Prehistoric Rock Art and Megalithic Remains of Rivock & District (parts 1 & 2),” in Earth, 3-4, 1986.
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
Deacon, Vivien, The Rock Art Landscapes of Rombalds Moor, West Yorkshire, ArchaeoPress: Oxford 2020.
Feather, Stuart, “Mid-Wharfedale Cup-and-Ring Markings – no.16 – Rivock,” in Cartwright Hall Archaeology Group Bulletin, volume 8, no.10, 1963.
Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Morris, Ronald W.B., “The Prehistoric Rock Art of Great Britain: A Survey of All Sites Bearing Motifs more Complex than Simple Cup-marks,” in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, volume 55, 1989.
Acknowledgments: Huge thanks to Collette Walsh for use of her photos.
If you’re coming via the Keighley-Bingley (Airedale) road, go up to Riddlesden and then up the winding Banks Lane until it meets the edge of the moors. At the T-junction, turn left and about 330 yards along on your right there’s a dirt-track. Walk up here, sticking to the track (not the footpath) towards the cliffs of Rivock ahead of you, going through the gate and into the Rivock woods area. About 450 yards on from the gate on your right-hand side you’ll see the long straight length of walling that runs uphill—and about 60 yards up here, on the left-hand side of the wall you’ll see a very large boulder. Y’ can’t really miss it!
Archaeology & History
2 of the several cups here
This large natural block, embedded into the hillside about 80 yards below the Wondjina Stone and its companions, is nothing much in the petroglyphic visual scale of things, but is worth checking out for a break if you’re checking out the other good designs in the Rivock cluster. Upon its sloping flat two-tiered surface there are just a small number of randomly spaced cup-marks of varying sizes: six at least, but perhaps as many as nine altogether. In times gone by (many years ago) we thought one of them might have had a very faint ring around it, but on my last couple of visits here I couldn’t see anything.
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Wakefield 2003.
Hedges, John (ed.), The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Cup-Marked Stone: OS Grid Reference – SE 0745 4470
Getting Here
Rivock Top stone
Best approached via the Wondjina Stone, then over the wall and follow the geological ridge that bends into the trees. It’s difficult to find amidst the dense forest and is another one of those carvings that’s probably only for the purists amongst you.
Archaeology & History
If you’re doing the Rivock rock art tour, you might as well give this a go once you’ve checked ou the decent ones nearby. Here, on a rather large stone we find, on its uppermost ridge, three faint cup-marks next to each other in a very slight curve. The cup-mark in the middle is slightly larger than its two compatriots and might be natural. If you were to wet the rock when the sunlight is just right, you’ll probably get a better idea of its real appearance—otherwise we’ll have to let the computer-gadget lads suss it out!
Make your way to the Black Beck tomb and walk west for some 50 yards. If the heather has grown any more than a foot tall, it’s impossible to see.
Archaeology & History
Near the northernmost section of the Hawksworth Shaw prehistoric graveyard, some 50 yards west of the Black Beck cairn, exists the remains of a small prehistoric enclosure whose walling is deeply embedded in the peat. Although I describe the place as an ‘enclosure’, we don’t know for certain whether it is a ruined settlement or large hut circles (although this latter idea is the more improbable).
Walling, looking N
Arc of walling, looking S
Two large open arcs of walling—like large letter “C’s”—with their open sides to the east, have been constructed next to each other, virtually coming together in the shape of an inverted number “3”. The walling in the southern arc—measuring some 33 yards in length and barely higher than 1 foot above ground level—consists of standard stones and rubble, similar to some of the hut circles that are found in greater abundance on the north-side of Ilkley Moor. The smaller, less visible arc of stones—some 18 yards of it—is lower in the earth. Both lines of walling may have been robbed in part to construct some of the extensive cairns close by, as neither of the two arcs were very high and it was very difficult to work out even what sort of structure they might have been.
Like many other prehistoric sites on Rombalds Moor, only an excavation is going to tell us precisely what was going on here…
