Not too difficult to locate if you don’t mind wandering to and fro in deep heather. From the Askwith Moor Road parking spot, walk up the road (north) 300 yards until you see the disused quarry on the moor to your right. From here, head onto the moor, straight down past the quarry for about 200 yards, angling slightly to your right. You’ll notice some overgrown ‘lumps’ in the heather — deemed as a cairnfield by archaeologists — go just below these and watch out for some rocks emerging from the heather. This carving (and its neighbours) is on one of ’em!
Archaeology & History
This curiously-shaped large rock has several worn cup-and-rings on its upper surface, with several cup-marks aswell. Two deeply etched lines running down the edge of the rock have also been pecked away as part of the carving, in contrast to the distinguishing natural water-worn line that runs diagonally along and down to the bottom of the stone.
The site was first described by Eric Cowling (1937), who labelled it as Carving no.9 in his survey, saying:
Carving 582, looking SWCarving from above
“At the eastern and lower end of the barrow group on Snowden Carr is a cluster of angular boulders, one of which has several markings cut on the upper surface. There is a cup and ring on the highest, and alongside two rings are joined together and enclose separate cups. One corner of the area is isolated by a groove running from edge to edge, and within this enclosure are three cups.”
Catalogued as ‘stone 582’ in Boughey & Vickerman’s (2003) survey, their description of the carving was one with “fourteen possible cups, several with indications of a ring, some of which intersect; grooves.”
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
Cowling, Eric T., “Cup and Ring Markings to the North of Otley,” in Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, part 131, 33:3, 1937.
Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way: A Prehistory of Mid-Wharfedale, William Walker: Otley 1946.
From the Askwith Moor Road parking spot and walk up the road for about 500 yards an head to your right (east) onto he moor, above the rocky ridge known as Snowden Crags. After 100 yards or so of walking through the heather, the entire cairnfield is under your very feet! If the heather’s grown, you probably won’t see a thing.
Archaeology & History
First described in Eric Cowling Rombald’s Way (1946), where he mentions around 30 cairns on the moorland plain immediately west of the Snowden Moor settlement. These were plainly visible when Richard Stroud and I visited here in 2005, thanks mainly to the fact that the heather had been burnt away. Once it’s grown back, virtually all of these tombs will be hard to find. I first had fortune to see some of these tombs on a visit here with Graeme Chappell about 15 years ago, but only a little of the cemetery was then visible. Following another visit to the site this week, a great deal more has become visible, thanks again to heather-burning on the moors.
One of around 30 cairns on the ridge…and another one!
Curiously omitted from the Nidderdale Archaeological survey report of sites in this region (anyone know why?), the cemetery itself stretches from the western edge of the Snowden Moor settlement, several hundred yards west along the flat moorland plain towards the moorland road, stopping a short distance before the line of old grouse butts. It is highly likely that some of the stones in the grouse-butts originated in some of the prehistoric cairns along the ridge. And if summat aint done about it, there’s a likelihood this could easily happen again in the near future.
…and another!
The easternmost cairn touches the very edge of the D-shaped settlement; and another of them is right next to a cup-marked stone. Whilst a number of the cairns along this ridge are much like those found on the moors above Ilkley, Bingley, Middleton, Askwith Moor, Earby, etc — averaging 2-3 yards in diameter and less than 2 feet high amidst the peat and decaying herbage — one notable feature to many of these tombs is the inclusion of a rather large, singular boulder, against which or around are propped the smaller stones, typical of cairns found elsewhere in the region. This ‘large boulder’ characteristic is not common at other tombs in the mid-Pennines, but seems specific to this graveyard. Neither do the large boulders seem set in any particularly consistent fashion. There is the possibility that they were originally above the smaller cairn of stones, but this is purely hypothetical and non-verifiable without excavations.
The important Snowden Crags cairn circle, discovered by the hardworking Keighley volunteer Michala Potts on Thursday, 20 May, 2010, can be found on the northern part of this cairnfield.
References:
Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way: A Prehistory of Mid-Wharfedale, William Walker: Otley 1946.
Difficult to locate when the heather’s deep, but, from the Askwith Moor Road car-parking spot, walk up the road till you hit the fencing that cuts across Snowden Moor on your right. Follow the fence across the moor for about 300 yards where the moorland slope increases downhill. Go down here, keeping to the northern side of the fence and zigzag about. Good luck!
Archaeology & History
Cup-marked stone, Snowden Carr
On the hillside west of the Snowden Moor Settlement is this previously unrecorded cup-marked stone, discovered by Richard Stroud in May 2005. From the photo you get the impression there are perhaps 10 cup-markings etched onto the stone here, but looking at the site in the cold light of day, we both reckoned that perhaps just two or three of them were man-made. This is one of them carvings which has you scratching your head about the problems with some “carvings” and the difficulty one can sometimes have when it comes to answering the simple query about whether they’re natural or man-made.
It’s worth a look this one — not least because, when the conditions are right and the heather’s been burnt back, there’s one helluva decent prehistoric settlement very close by, giving you even more to puzzle over…
Take the same directions as to reach the Snowden Crags Necropolis, and where the small rounded hill rises up on the eastern end of the plain, look around and you’ll find the stone in question.
Archaeology & History
Up near the edge of the Snowden Moor settlement, just a few yards away from Carving-570, is this medium-sized earthfast boulder with what seems to be three or four cup-markings on its western-face. Boughey & Vickerman (2003) describe the stone as with a “deep gully, cups and enlarged cup, perhaps weathered carving but could be natural” — which seems a reasonable assessment. Certainly the cups seem weathered, although a couple of them may have been man-made. At the side of the rock are the remains of a small cairn, and it is positioned next to the beginning of the Snowden Moor Cemetery.
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way: A Prehistory of Mid-Wharfedale, William Walker: Otley 1946.
Follow the directions to reach the Snowden Moor settlement and, from the Upper D-shaped enclosure (at SE 1782 5131) walk west up the sloped hillock 30 yards west and, on its top, head to its northern edge where a small cairn can be found. The carving is next to it.
Archaeology & History
Very close to what seems to be the boundary between the Snowden Moor Settlement and its adjacent Cemetery is this small earthfast rock with three cup-markings on it, two of which may be linked by a small line. I have to say that we have to be cautious about the veracity of this carving. By the side of this stone is what seems to be the remains of a cairn.
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Wakefield 2003.
Follow the same directions as to reach the Tree of Life Stone carving. From here walk 7 or 8 yards east. You can’t miss it!
Archaeology & History
Coped Stone carving (after Boughey & Vickerman)
About 20 feet away from the more renowned Tree of Life Stone — and seemingly linked to it by a small stretch of ancient walling that runs between the respective stones — is this rather large boulder close to the walling with at least seven cup-marks on it. A number of vague lines run down and around the edges of some of the cups, but they can be somewhat hard to see if the light conditions aint right (I don’t recommend trying to suss it out on dark grey overcast days — unless you’ve got awesome eyes!). Immediately next to this rock is a large collection of small stones, looking to be the remains of some man-made construction from time past. The nature of this pile of rocks has yet to be ascertained, but it would be reasonable to assume that it was at one point earlier a much larger pile that has been plundered for use to make the drystone walls hereby. Less than 10 yards below this and the Tree of Life Stone carving is a line of ancient walling, at least Iron Age in nature, possibly earlier, running for some distance east-west up and across the moorland.
Cup-marks near top of the stone
The carving was described for the first time, albeit very briefly, by Eric Cowling (1937) in his lengthier description of the Tree of Life Stone, saying how “a small coped stone to the east has several scattered cups” on its surface — meaning this old thing! Boughey & Vickerman’s (2003) survey (2003) describe it as a
“medium-sized, upstanding, worn rock. Seven or eight possible cups, mostly at the top of S face, but one at its bottom of E face.”
…And the poor old fella has had nowt else said of it until now! I reckon this carving will only be of interest to the most serious of meditators or hardened rock-art freaks!
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
Cowling, Eric T., “Cup and Ring Markings to the North of Otley,” in Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, part 131, 33:3, 1937.
Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way: A Prehistory of Mid-Wharfedale, William Walker: Otley 1946.
Follow the same directions to reach the Tree of Life Stone, then walk up the well-worn footpath up the slope for about 100 yards and, as you get to near the top of the hill, just watch out for a large-ish stone on the right. That’s it!
Archaeology & History
First described by Eric Cowling 1937, here we have what here looks like a faded cup-and-ring plus at least eight other cup-markings near Snowden Crags (though Boughey & Vickerman [2003] counted only 6 cups here). In more recent years it has become known as the “Fence Stone” due to its proximity the straight line of fencing which ran across the moor hereby. Cowling’s description of the site told:
Faded cup-and-ringCowling’s 1937 drawing
“The spur of hill separating Snowden Carr from Snowden Craggs is surmounted by a D-shaped enclosure which has a small level area in the highest corner. Here, on a triangular table stone amongst the heather, is a well-cut cup, ring and radial groove running to the margin of the surface. Four other cups appear to have no definite arrangement.”
He went onto say that “many of the boulders which surround this table are marked with cups.” They are indeed!
References:
Boughey, Keith & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS 2003.
Cowling, Eric T., “Cup and Ring Markings to the North of Otley,” in Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, part 131, 33:3, 1937.
Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way: A Prehistory of Mid-Wharfedale, William Walker: Otley 1946.
Acknowledgements: A huge thanks to James Elkington for use of his photo for this site profile.
Ellers Wood is at the very northern edge of the beautiful parish of Askwith and has a very particular ambience of its own. The small cluster of at least 5 cup-and-ring stones in this lovely little woodland gives you the impression that they stood out on their own, living here representing the genius loci of this luscious watery vale, all-but-hidden from all but the lucky few. It’s very likely that there are still more carvings hidden away nearby.
The best way to check them out is simply to walk down past the haunted Dobpark Lodge, where it turns into a footpath and where it crosses the lovely old packhorse bridge at the valley bottom, walk a few hundred yards up the river-side (at the bottom of the fields) until you reach Ellers Wood. Once there, look around. This one’s on the west side of the main stream, close by where it meets up with another small burn coming down from the western wooded slopes.
Archaeology & History
First sketch of the carving, c.1994
In the same region as the Ellers Wood 618 and other carvings and very close to the river, somehow this heavily cup-marked stone evaded the prying eyes of such notaries as Cowling, Stuart Feather and Sidney Jackson – all of whom ventured to look at the other petroglyphs in Ellers Wood. But with good fortune, Graeme Chappell and I re-discovered this fine-looking carving in our explorations in 1993-94 and gave it back the attention it truly deserves.
The main feature here is the clustering of cups into sections, as the drawing indicates. It is listed as “stone 614” in Boughey & Vickerman’s (2003) survey.
References:
Boughey, K.J.S. & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Exeter 2003.
Cowling, E.T., ‘A Classification of West Yorkshire Cup and Ring Stones,’ in Yorks. Arch. Journal 1940.
Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way, William Walker: Otley 1946.
Cowling, E.T. & Hartley, C.A., ‘Cup and Ring Markings to the North of Otley,’ in Yorks. Arch. Journal 33, 1937.
Grainge, William, The History and Topography of the Forest of Knareborough, J.R. Smith: London 1871.
Grainge, William, History and Topography of the Townships of Little Timble, Great Timble and the Hamlet of Snowden, William Walker: Otley 1895.
Follow the same directions for the Ellers Wood 614 and 618 carvings, as it’s nearby. The best way to check them out is simply to walk down past the haunted Dobpark Lodge, where it turns into a footpath and then when you reach the lovely old packhorse bridge at the valley bottom, walk upstream for 3-400 yards until you reach the next small wooded region. Once there, look around…..
Archaeology & History
Ellers Wood is at the very northern edge of the beautiful parish of Askwith and has a very particular ambience of its own. The small cluster of at least 5 cup-and-ring stones in this lovely little woodland gives you the impression that they stood out on their own, living here respresenting the genius loci of this luscious watery vale, all-but-hidden from all but the lucky few.
Cowling’s 1937 sketch1991 sketch of CR-619
Beautifully preserved, this carving was first described in an article by Cowling & Hartley (1937), then included in Cowling’s Rombald’s Way (1946). As with the other cup-and-rings close by, the characteristic grouping of certain cups is here focused into three sections by enclosing rings. This was something I used to call ‘central design’ features, which occur in different locales with their own individual geographical patterns/structures. These central designs are non-numeric in nature, though have a tendency to cluster in patterns of 2, 3 and 4. (I need to write a decent essay on this to outline what I’m on about with greater clarity!)
References:
Boughey, K.J.S. & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Exeter 2003.
Cowling, E.T., ‘A Classification of West Yorkshire Cup and Ring Stones,’ in Yorks. Arch. Journal 1940.
Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way, William Walker: Otley 1946.
Cowling, E.T. & Hartley, C.A., ‘Cup and Ring Markings to the North of Otley,’ in Yorks. Arch. Journal 33, 1937.
Grainge, William, The History and Topography of the Forest of Knareborough, J.R. Smith: London 1871.
Grainge, William, History and Topography of the Townships of Little Timble, Great Timble and the Hamlet of Snowden, William Walker: Otley 1895.
Follow the same directions to reach the other Ellers Woods carvings, staying on the western-side of the river close to where it meets with Snowden Beck, just north of the footpath. Check it out in winter and early Spring — any later in the year and it might be a little overgrown.
Archaeology & History
A truly lovely, lichen enriched carved rock in a lovely little part of the Fewston valley. The place has a distinct genius loci that’s very different from its carved rock companions on the moorland hills a short distance away. As I’ve said elsewhere: the surroundings of trees and richer fertile growth is something we must remember to ascribe to these carvings when we encounter them, as the landscape in places such as Ellers Wood is much closer to the scattered forested landscape that profused when first these stones were inscribed.
Section of CR-618
First described by Cowling & Hartley in 1937, it was later included in Cowling’s (1946) more extensive prehistoric survey of mid-Wharfedale. There may be as many as 38 cup-markings cut onto the rock here, along with several lines and grooves. A meditative dreaming site indeed…
References:
Boughey, K.J.S. & Vickerman, E.A., Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, WYAS: Exeter 2003.
Cowling, E.T., ‘A Classification of West Yorkshire Cup and Ring Stones,’ in Yorks. Arch. Journal 1940.
Cowling, Eric T., Rombald’s Way, William Walker: Otley 1946.
Cowling, E.T. & Hartley, C.A., ‘Cup and Ring Markings to the North of Otley,’ in Yorks. Arch. Journal 33, 1937.
Grainge, William, The History and Topography of the Forest of Knareborough, J.R. Smith: London 1871.
Grainge, William, History and Topography of the Townships of Little Timble, Great Timble and the Hamlet of Snowden, William Walker: Otley 1895
