Tag: woodland

OS Grid-Reference – SE 09825 37861

Getting Here

Follow the same directions as if you’re visiting the impressive Fairy Stone carving, then 3 yards east is the Cottingley 2 double cup-and-ring, keep walking past through trees for another 5-6 yards  where you’ll come across this reasonably large curved flat stone.  Y’ can’t really miss it

Archaeology & History

This was another carving in the small cluster by the Fairy Stone that I found on my visit here in the 1980s—but it’s a pretty innocuous one to be honest.  There’s a faded incomplete “ring” (not really visible on my photos due to pouring rain and very poor light when I was here) with a distinct cup-mark in the middle.  Several inches away from the cup-and-ring is a carved line that arcs around it creating an incomplete oval design; and what seems to be a single cup-mark is visible at the top of this oval.  Other marks on the stone are both natural as well as recent ‘scratches’.

Some elements of this carving—as with others in this petroglyph cluster—seems to be modern.  The cup-and-ring seems to be the real deal, but the ‘oval’ seems to have been added much more recently, perhaps by the scouts who play around in this part of the woods.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid-Reference – SE 09843 37869

Getting Here

Get yerself to the Fairy Stone, then walk east past the adjacent woodland carvings—numbers 2, 3 and 4—from where you should walk about another 10 yards east across the grass, keeping your eyes peeled for a large flat stone measuring about 6ft by 10ft just as you go back into the tree cover north-side.  You’ll find it.

Archaeology & History

This large carved rock is the easternmost known petroglyph in this small woodland cluster of five. (a sixth one can be found, but it’s several hundred yards east from here)  Consisting of two distinct cup-and-rings in relative proximity to each other on the northern section of the stone, this design—unlike others in this group—has a greater sense of stylistic authenticity to it.  Despite this, one of the two cup-and-rings seems to be a more recent addition to the rock, as close inspection shows peck marks that aren’t very well eroded as you’d expect on rock of this type if it was truly ancient.  The more faded cup-and-ring on its northwestern section looks to have a greater sense of age about it when we look at its erosion level….perhaps…

We have to take into consideration when looking at this carving and the others nearby that possess some quite peculiar design-elements, that this section of woodland is used extensively by boy scouts who do what boy scouts do in their teenage ventures: from making fires, climbing trees and, perhaps, scribing on stones if/when their elders aint looking.  It’s an important ingredient that has to be taken into consideration when looking at the more rash motifs hereby—this carving included.  The more faded cup-and-ring on this, however, may be the real deal.  And hopefully, next time I visit this site, She’ll not be dark and pouring with rain (much though I love such weather), so I’ll be able to get some better photos!

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian

Cup-and-Ring Stone:  OS Grid-Reference – SE 09819 37862

Getting Here

Follow the same directions as if you’re visiting the impressive Fairy Stone carving, then check out the overgrown rock three yards away, to the east.  You might have to rummage under the scrubbage to see it, but you’ll find it if you want to!

Archaeology & History

I first found this stone in the 1980s when I’d been shown the Fairy Stone carving which, at the time, was thought to be all alone.  But I used the olde adage: “where’s there’s one cup-and-ring, others tend to be“—and found this and several others closed by.

It’s a relatively small, slightly-domed earthfast rock, upon which we find an unusually large cup-and-double-ring design with a carved line running from the large central cup out to the edge of the stone.  However, the carved lines that constitute both the inner and outer rings are ‘crude’ in form and style when compared to the vast majority of other British petroglyphs; and for some reason, this aspect of the design has me casting doubts over its prehistoric authenticity.  I hope I’m wrong!

References:

1. Bennett, Paul, ‘Tales of Yorkshire Faeries,’ in Earth 9, 1988.
2. Bennett, Paul, The Old Stones of Elmet, Capall Bann: Milverton 2001.

© Paul Bennett, The Northern Antiquarian