From the large village of Summerbridge, go west along the B6541 towards Dacre Banks, where you’ll see the signpost for the Nidderdale Way footpath. Follow this past the disused quarry and onto the meadows. When you hit the Monk Ing road, bear right (north) and keep going till you’re 100 yards from Eastwoods Farm. Go right, down into the fields for 50 yards or so. Look around!
Archaeology & History
A previously unlisted single cup-marked stone which is likely to become overgrown by the grasses pretty soon. Several other carvings are in close attendance in this field. It’s not far from the cup-marked Eastwoods Cross Base (aka CR 637) in the same field, but a little further down. In all probability there are other carvings yet to be found in this area. The rock art student Keith Boughey (2007) mentioned it briefly in an article on the other carvings nearby, saying simply:
“A small area of rock (very possibly bedrock) measuring 40cm x 14cm at its greatest extent pokes up through the turf, showing one worn but clear cup-mark on its western edge (Fig 3). On its own, this marking would not be significant were it not for the fact that four other carved rocks are already recorded from this particular locality.”
Follow directions for getting to the Haystack Rock. Once here, walk dead straight south onto the moor and go up the slope you see a few hundred yards ahead of you. Once you’re at the top of the slope, a few yards onto the ridge itself, look around! If there’s deep heather growth when you arrive, you’ve no chance!
Archaeology & History
To my limited knowledge, it appears there’s no previous references to the cairns here. We found at least two of them, with a probable third not far away; but we were lucky inasmuch that the heather had all been burnt away, allowing a clearer inspection of the sites. The larger of the two is nearly four yards across and nearly a yard high. It’s somewhat larger than the majority of what are thought to be single-person cairns along Green Crag Slack ridge, down the slope.
Much denuded cairn
A smaller cairn less than 100 yards west on the same ridge (near the large boulder with a couple of cup-markings on top) looks as if it was robbed of stone sometime in the past. About six-feet across, this one is more typical of the cairns found on the Ridge below.
There are what seems to be other remains along this ridge, including a very distinct thin, six-foot-long stone, which looks very much as if it could have stood upright in the not-too-distant past. We could do with more heather-burning on this part of the moor to help us out!
Dead easy! Follow the directions to the unmissable Haystack Rock, then look at the small upright stone about 40 yards west, just off the footpath.
Archaeology & History
This is another one of the many carvings I first saw when I was a small lad, about 12 years old, in one of my countless walkabouts over these moors. It’s thought by some to be a small cup-marked standing stone (it’s possible I s’ppose, but improbable); whether that’s the case or not, it certainly has three distinct cup-markings on its east-facing vertical face. There are also what appears to be lines cutting through the cups and running out to near the edge of the stone which may or may not be natural. A small, cute little thing! Boughey and Vickerman (2003) make a note that this carving may be recent — but if so, it was done some considerable time before 1975, when I first clapped eyes on it!
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock art of the West Riding, WYAS: Wakefield 2003.
Hedges, John, The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Follow the directions for getting to the Haystack Rock, then bear right (west) along the footpath, past the little Three Cups Stone, until the path bends and goes up onto the moor. A hundred yards or so, walk left into the heather (you’re straddling the remains of considerable prehistoric walling and enclosure remains by now) and look around. You’ll find it!
Archaeology & History
I was only about 12-years old when I first saw this and the nearby prehistoric carvings — but when I came to look for any references to it as a boy, there were none I could find at the time. Then, ten years later when John Hedges (1986) brought out his fine work on the cup-and-ring art of Ilkley Moor, its presence was shown in pen-and-ink at last. Found amidst the remains of an extensive settlement or series of walled enclosures, the carving’s name comes from the curious urn-like element that Hedges showed faintly. There is also an additional ring around one of the cups above the ‘urn’.
Excavations that were done on the prehistoric ‘enclosure’ close to this petroglyph in the 1990s, uncovered the remains of a decent amount of ‘grooved ware’ pottery and worked flint (Edwards & Bradley 1999), dated between 2900 and 2600 BC. As such pottery has been found elsewhere in Britain within and/or near earthworks and other prehistoric remains (obviously!), its incidence here isn’t really too much of a surprise. However, Edwards & Bradley (1999) speculate — albeit vaguely — that there may be a link between the cup-and-rings here and the pottery, saying, “if so, the rock carvings (here) might be indicating a place of special significance.”
This may be so: considering the prevalence of rock-art along the geological ridge and its close association with the large number of burial cairns. If it can be ascertained that the charred remains of humans were kept inside the pottery or vases, the relationship between death and the carvings (well established on this part of Ilkley Moor) would be reinforced.
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, West Yorkshire Archaeology Service 2003.
Edwards, Gavin & Bradley, Richard, ‘Rock Carvings and Neolithic Artefacts on Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire,’ in Grooved Ware in Britain and Ireland (edited by Cleal, R. & MacSween, A.), Oxbow: Oxford 1999.
Hedges, John, The Carved Rocks on Rombald’s Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
The Young Idol Stone (bottom) and its parental Idol Stone above
Take the directions to reach the Haystack Rock, then head onto the moor following the southeast footpath for a few hundred yards, towards where the moor slopes uphill. 20-30 yards before the uphill slope, a yard to the right of the path, a coupla yards below the well-known Idol Stone carving – you’ll find it!
Archaeology & History
Described simply as a “small, rounded, smooth grit rock,” this long-tooth-shaped stone has just two cup-markings on its upper face: one on the more southern tip, and the second smaller cup several inches below it – as shown on the photo. The adjacent carving seen at the top of the photo is the parent guardian, Idol Stone! If you visit this, or any adjacent carvings here, please remember that all along this moorland plain are numerous unexcavated prehistoric tombs. You’re effectively stood at the edge of, or within, a huge prehistoric cemetery.
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
Hedges, John, The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Head for the binary-like Idol Stone carving and keep walking on the footpath, up the hill. Once on top of the ridge, walk along it to your right (west) for about 300 yards, then walk south (left) into the flat heathland plain. Look around!
Archaeology & History
I’m probably not reading it right – but it seems this large stone with several distinct cup-marks on its vertical south-face, isn’t in the surveys of either Hedges (1986) or Boughey & Vickerman (2003). If someone can correct me on this one – please do!
Green Crag Top Stone, looking north
This is quite a large boulder, as the photos here show. At least two average-sized cup-markings have been etched onto the south face, and two larger ones accompany them on the same edge. There’s another larger cup-mark on the northeast side of the stone, and a possible companion, which may or may not be artificial. Then on top of the stone we have several large cups and a ‘bowl’ — though some of these upper markings may be natural, or just well-eroded cup-marks. It’s hard to tell for sure!
Now I’m gonna have another look in the Hedges, Boughey & Vickerman surveys. They surely can’t have missed this!
It’s not too far from the main footpath from Ilkley to the Twelve Apostles stone circle. As its discoverer C.W. Dymond (1880) said, “It lies alone, on and near the foot of a steep slope, about a furlong, or less than five minutes’ walk, north from the ruins of a small stone-circle (Twelve Apostles) which crowns the crest of the pass leading south-south-east from Ilkley to Eldwick, and just one mile and three-quarters from the former place. If approached therefrom, it will be easily found about two hundred yards to the east of the point where the road surmounts the steep, to enter upon the upper plain.” Otherwise, walk through the Twelve Apostles from the main footpath and out the other side, following the land where it slopes down and, near the bottom, you’ll see this large stone sitting quietly on its own…
Dymond’s 1880 sketch
Archaeology & History
Not too sure about the veracity of this one to be honest. It was first described by archaeologist C.W. Dymond (1880) as “a stone marked with a striking group of cups” – but these are small and untypical of the usual markings. “The stone is 9 ft. 6 ins. in length, 6 ft. 3 ins. in breadth, and about 2 ft. in thickness; its upper surface dipping a little, with the ground, toward the north. Upon it may be seen a group of small cups, for the most part about half an inch in diameter,” he said.
Dymond thought that the design on the rock may have represented parts of the night sky, saying, “here we may have a rude attempt to portray the starry heavens spanned by the galaxy ; and that the outlying groups may have been intended to represent two of the constellations perhaps Orion, and another not so easily identified.” But I think we can take this with a pinch of salt.
Included in Hedge’s (1986) survey without comment, Boughey and Vickerman (2003) correctly thought that the “small peck marks which are not typical cup-marks” might be “doubtful”.
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, West Yorks Archaeology Service 2003.
Dymond, C.W., ‘Cup Marks on Burley Moor,’ in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, volume 36, 1880.
Hedges, John, The Carved Rocks of Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Various ways to get here, but the 2 most common are: (1) from Brunthwaite village, above Silsden, following the road uphill for a mile, then turning right (west) onto the moorland dirt-track to Doubler Stones Farm. Just before here there’s a footpath uphill (north) for 200 yards to the stones. (2) follow the Millenium Way footpath south up Addingham Moorside, onto Addingham High Moor. Keep going on the same path another 500 yards and they’ll appear ahead of you.
Archaeology & History
First described as the ‘Doublestones’ in the local Addingham parish records of 1786, these great mushroom-shaped rocks were later brought to the attention of archaeologists by J. Romilly Allen in 1879 and they greatly intrigued numerous Victorian antiquarians, who puzzled as much about their exotic forms as the cup-marks on their tops! Allen wrote of them:
“These rocks are by far the most remarkable freaks of Nature to be seen in the district. They occupy a prominent position, perched on the extremity of a rocky knoll which juts out into the valley; and as seen from below, with their weird forms standing out clear and sharp against the background of blue sky, they present so extraordinary an appearance that they would at once attract the attention of even the most unobservant. In general outline they resemble gigantic toadstools; and I presume that they are called Doubler Stones from the fact of their shapes being almost identical. They may be appropriately described as Nature’s Twins. The upper surface of the cap of one of these stones has three large basin-shaped cavities in it. Two of these lie along the central axis of the stone, and measure respectively 1ft 3in by 2ft 9in deep, and 1ft 9in by 1ft 3in by 9in deep. They are united by a deep groove, a continuation of which runs out over the edge of the stone at each end. There is another basin lying to the west side of the two central ones, with one of which it is connected by grooves. It measures 2ft by 1ft 9in and is 9in deep. There is no direct evidence that these basins are artificial; but it is quite possible that they may have been so originally, and have been enlarged by natural agencies. But in addition to the basins, are twenty-six cup-markings of distinctly artificial origin. They vary in diameter from 2 to 4 in. One group of cups appears to be arranged in parallel rows.”
Cup-marks on one of the Doublers (after Hedges 1986)Cowling’s 1946 drawing
Although the writer thought there were no artificial cup-markings on the other Doubler Stone (the one on the left in the photo), John Hedges (1986) and Boughey & Vickerman (2003) cite there to be at least two cup-markings on this rock. Other writers have given different numbers for the respective cup-marks thought to be on these rocks down the years.
If you’re into prehistoric rock-art, check this place out. If you’re a geologist and aint been here, you’ll be even more impressed!
Folklore
Approaching the Doublers (photo – James Elkington)
In Nicholas Size’s Haunted Moor (1934) he described the Doubler Stones as being the abode of ghosts and a place of sacrificial rites in ancient days. While in Guy Ragland Phillips’ Brigantia, we find that the word ‘doubler’ itself “is a large shallow dish, bowl or plate” – which we find on top of the greater one of these two well-worn-weirdoes. As well as being haunted, there is some other little-known, though not unexpected folklore here, which told these old stones to be the meeting place of witches in previous centuries.
In addition to this, we are told that the witches of Fewston valley to the west used to meet up with the more famous Pendle witches at these stones. One historian proclaimed that this notion was spurious, as it would be too far for the Pendle witches to walk – which says more about the historian in question than the people of previous centuries. The distance from Pendle to the Doublers can be traversed in a day and is an ideal meeting spot, away from the prying eyes of a wrathful Church, that sought war against the animistic practices of our ancestors.
References:
Allen, J. Romilly, ‘The Prehistoric Rock Sculptures of Ilkley,’ in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, volume 35, 1879.
Allen, J. Romilly, ‘Notice of Sculptured Rocks near Ilkley,’ ibid, volume 38, 1882.
Bennett, Paul, The Old Stones of Elmet, Capall Bann: Chieveley 2001.
Boughey & Vickerman, Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, West Yorkshire Archaeology Service 2003.
Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way, William Walker: Otley 1946.
Hedges, John, The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Jennings, Hargrave, Archaic Rock Inscriptions, A. Reader: London 1891.
Phillips, Guy Ragland, Brigantia: A Mysteriography, RKP: London 1976.
Size, Nicholas, The Haunted Moor, William Walker: Otley 1934.
To get here, follow the same directions as if you’re going to the Morphing Stone. This carving is in the same field, but about 100 yards SSW of there, just to the south-side of the Nidderdale Way footpath. There’s plenty of rocks about, but with a bit of patience or a natural rock-art dowser’s nose, you’ll find the carving easily enough!
This is another relatively recent find — though I wonder whether the nearby ‘Fertility Stone’ (about 500 yards north, in some walling) should switch names with this carving, as this one gives the distinct impression of sperm fertilizing the egg! Don’t you agree!? The name of the Tadpole Stone was given to it by Michala Potts — and the photograph and design are used, courtesy of Richard Stroud. In the next field from here, towards Eastwoods Farm, we find the Eastwoods Cross base and cup-markings and adjacent cup-marked stone. Not far away are other carvings, aswell as a number of other Bronze- and Iron-Age sites.
This design was described in Keith Boughey’s (2007) article on the rock art around Eastwoods Farm, telling how it
“was discovered by Kevin Cale and reported to the N.Y.C.C. SMR back in 2001… A low profile moss-covered earthfast rock a little over 1m in diameter in any one direction immediately S of the Nidderdale Way about 100m east of the end of Monk Ing Road and S of Eastwoods Farm at SE 18601 61643 and 172m O.D. Its domed surface carries a somewhat unusual design interestingly reminiscent of the design carved at the previous site which lies in the same field and landscape 160m to the north-west… An oval or egg-shaped groove enclosed up to six cups; a groove or channel, often referred to as a ‘comet tail’ in rock art motif vocabulary, runs from the central group of the six out beyond the enclosing groove, bends sharply and continues down over the sloping face of the rock. A wide groove at the base of the rock running into the present turf line may be a further element of the carving.”
References:
Boughey, K., “Prehistoric Rock Art: Four New Discoveries in Nidderdale,” in Prehistoric Research Section Bulletin, no.44, Yorkshire Archaeological Society 2007.
Take the directions to reach the Haystack Rock, then head onto the moor following the southeast footpath for a few hundred yards, towards where the moor slopes uphill. 20-30 yards before the uphill slope, a yard to the right of the path. It accompanies the Young Idol Stone with its two small cups, just a few yards away. Keep your eyes peeled and y’ can’t really miss it! If you hit the large slightly-pyramidal-shaped boulder with its well-worn lines running from its top (the Idol Rock), you’ve gone past it.
Archaeology & History
An intriguing carving this, and one which has always had me edging towards a manifest linear or logical myth underscoring its form. It’s the almost binary or primal numeric system in the lay-out of the cups which seems to do it. Few other carvings in the region exhibit this tendency.* If you aint seen it ‘in the flesh,’ check it out.
First described by that old Victorian J. Romilly Allen (1882), he seemed equally impressed by it, calling it “the most beautiful specimen of prehistoric sculpture,” continuing:
“The stone is of grit, and measure 3ft 2ins, by 2ft 6ins. Its upper surface is nearly horizontal, and has carved upon it cups varying in diameter from 2ins to 3ins. A row of cups in the middle of the stone are entirely surrounded by a groove. There is also a channel running round the outside. Single cups are often found encircled by one or more concentric rings; but it is very exceptional indeed to find several cups surrounded by a single groove, or to find the cups so symmetrically arranged as in the present instance.”
Idol Stone – looking SW
Prehistoric walling runs very close to this and the adjacent rock carvings, with the well-known ‘enclosure’ just a short distance to the east on the same moorland plain. This carving is very much on the edge of, or within, Green Crag Plain’s ‘Land of the Dead.’
This carving was one of several that Alan Davis (1983) measured in his exploratory survey on the validity of Alexander Thom’s ‘megalithic inch’ unit. This issue absolutely fascinated me as a boy, as it brought the attention of these curious non-linear images into the domain of mathematics and the higher sciences, instead of the lowly social sciences within whose domain archaeology is embedded, with its many inaccuracies and falsehoods. A number of astronomers and other academics did a great number of papers exploring potential units-of-length, surveying the carvings (and megalithic rings) in much greater detail than any previous archaeologist. Much of it was excellent work. However, the mythos of our ancient ancestors possessing great technical knowledge and mathematical ability was unfounded. In Davis’ (1983) paper — edited and expanded a few years later (1988) — he found no evidence of mathematical units of measurement here; though left the option ‘open’ for further discussion and analysis on several others, where multiple units of megalithic inches were measured. These findings however, are more likely the result of mere chance.
Idol Stone with “21st century informal unauthorised” art added
In 2011 some unnamed people visited the Idol Stone carving and vandalized it (this sadly happens more and more up here); but this form of vandalism is now being termed “twenty-first century informal unauthorised carvings” and is actually sanctioned by Ilkley Parish Council members, local businessman Tom Lonsdale and his affiliates as artistic “tradition”! Indeed, the damage done here and vandalism done on some other ancient carved stones that have been redesignated by Tom Lonsdale and friends as “twenty-first century informal unauthorised carvings”, legitimizes and encourages others to follow in their shallow-minded ignorance, enabling others to add their own form of ‘art’ on these supposedly protected monuments, on a region with an alleged SSSI status. They even encourage supposedly ‘nice’ people — y’ know the sort — to etch poems and such things onto the stones on the moors, in violation of regulations that apply to the general public. As a result, expect more vandalism — sorry…arty “twenty-first century informal unauthorised carvings” both here and elsewhere. This same appalling debacle — sorry, “tradition” — has been encouraged on the Haystack Rock, Hanging Stones and other prehistoric carvings on the moor.
Folklore
The name ‘Idol Stone’ was an invention of one of the Victorian romanticists, who saw heathen idolatry and perversion all over these moors (you’ve gotta ask y’self, what the hell were these people up to!?). Our old friend Nicholas Size (1934) told there to have been ghostly figures and druidic activities occurring at this site.
References:
Allen, J. Romilly, ‘Notice of Sculptured Rocks near Ilkley, with some Remarks on Rocking Stones,’ in Journal of the British Archaeological Association, volume 38, 1882.
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, West Yorkshire Archaeology Service 2003.
Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way, William Walker: Otley 1946.
Davis, Alan, ‘The Metrology of Cup and Ring Carvings near Ilkley in Yorkshire,’ in Science and Archaeology, 25, 1983.
Hedges, John, The Carved Rocks on Rombalds Moor, WYMCC: Wakefield 1986.
Hotham, John Paul, Halos and Horizons, Hotham Publishing: Leeds 2021.
Jennings, Hargrave, Archaic Rock Inscriptions, A. Reader: London 1891.
Size, Nicholas, The Haunted Moor, William Walker: Otley 1934.
Speight, Harry, Upper Wharfedale, Elliott Stock: London 1900.
