Cup and ring marked boundary stone at High Cayton, near Ripley

Hello all,

Stumbled upon a pleasant little discovery whilst out on the bike the other day. Limited technological abilities mean that I've been unable to post the images I took, so a description will have to suffice for now:
I was at the intersection of two bridleways close to a place called High Cayton, which is a mile or two north of the village of Ripley, near Harrogate. I was at a point very close to the known site of a medieval village (Cayton), when I decided to stop for a quick map-check.

Had I not done so, I would not have spotted the old fallen boundary stone laying in the grass, as I dismounted the bike. Nothing particularly unusual in itself, but immediately obvious upon it's upward-facing surface at one end of the stone, was what seems to be quite a fine example of a cup and ring carving. A cup with three concentric rings to be more precise, with a groove linking the cup to the first/smallest ring.

I've seen quite a few examples of cup and ring carvings now, and this one seems to be really nicely preserved and very clear - I was able to spot it straight away. It does look weathered enough to be a genuine example, (albeit probably removed from it's original setting at some point in more recent history when incorporated into the boundary stone) rather than a more modern imitation though, in my humble opinion.
The whole carving is about a foot or slightly more in diameter, but I didn't have any means of measuring it accurately. I took a few phone pics and continued on my way.

On later investigation, I was surprised to find that there seems to be little or no documentation of the carving when researching online. It's not on the O.S map, and I don't remember seeing it in the Boughey & Vickerman guide when I read it. The O.S does, however, detail a couple of disused quarries close by - perhaps the carving was originally located at one of these spots, on some outcrop which was then subject to quarrying?

I thought I'd post on here to see if anyone else has come across it (I'm sure that will be the case, as it's such a clear example, and very easy to find as it's laying right next to the bridleway junction). At any rate, it's rather a nice example to look at, in a pleasant setting, so it's probably worth a visit if in the vicinity. I imagine it would be less than an hour's walk from Ripley village if on foot.

The approximate grid ref is SE284632

If anyone is able to provide an idiot's guide to posting images, I will gladly try!

Thanks!

Here's a link to posting photo's

https://northernantiquarian.forumotion.net/t610-posting-photo-s-tutorial

Thanks, very helpful - I will have a look at that and try and post pics in due course.

Looking at the map image, I was slightly out with my grid ref estimate! The stone is situated below (south and slightly east) of where the grid ref marker is. If you make for the T-junction of the two bridleways just south of the quarry, it should be easy to spot, laying in the grass right next to the trail junction (on the west side of the north-south track, and south side of the east-west track).

Hi, don't forget a x6 fig ref is a 100 yard square !

could this be the stone ?

if you get stuck uploading the photo you could e-mail it to me and I'll post it
cheers Danny

That's the one Danny! You have the technology eh?

I might try and email the pic (s), as I set up an account with Photobucket but then seemed to get pelted with some adware/unwanted stuff whilst using the cranky old laptop. May give it another go when I get more time.

Leave it with me!

Rob N wrote:I might try and email the pic (s)

Please do.  We'd love to see them!

I managed to work out how to post the pics. (Thanks to Danny for the tutorial).
Here's a couple more. Apologies for the quality (or lack of). I may venture back when I've more time and try to take some better ones!

The photos are brilliant Rob. Cup and Ring marked rocks are difficult to photo at any time of the day. I am told it's best to photo them at Dusk and use a water spray. However, it's not always possible to be up on the moors at Dusk. I myself prefer to be up there in the light, well not too much light, unless it's casting a shadow onto the rock that I'm photographing.

Thanks for the kind words Sunbright! I popped a little water onto the carving after the initial pic, which did seem to enhance things.
It's a nice example. One can only wonder where it was originally situated, and at what point it was quarried into the boundary stone?

At some point I will head back up (I only live a few miles away) and have a bit of a dig about, see what else I can find!

Rob I wonder if that cup-and-ring marked rock has been used as a gatepost at some point as it looks as if it has been thrown down, and maybe has come from somewhere further afield, Somehow it looks out of place where it is. What do you think?

Hi Rob, good find and photo's thanks for posting
It looks too crisp, freshly carved to be 5000+ years old, then again I’m not bothered about the academic waffle preferring to be out in the hills finding stuff like this. It’s certainly a Cup and Ring carving so part of the Enigma of what they represent and why they're there. Who cares how old they are, I’ve often thought of carving one myself, bet it’s easier with a hammer and chisel  I don’t think it’s a working gate post though, no notches/holes for rails or holes for hinge pins.





Cheers Danny

Hi chaps,

Thanks for the feedback.

My little theory is this (and it is just wild speculation of course):

The carving was perhaps originally situated on the nearby outcrop of rocks or similar, which was then quarried in more recent history, perhaps at the time of the medieval village in the vicinity. The villagers may have decided to cut the stone with the carving in situ, to use as part of some walling, or corner post, or similar?
One possible explanation for the crispness of the carving is that it could have been overgrown/covered by topsoil for much of it's existence, to be discovered millennia later by those who began the quarrying, as they exposed more and more bedrock. I think there have been similar discoveries up on Ilkley moor and Snowden Carr where carvings have been found after being preserved in such a way.

Or then again, it might not be that ancient after all! Nice to ponder though

Yes, I agree it does look to be "a crisp" carving so maybe not that old. And I think it could, like you say, have been an end of the wall slab - similar to a book end perhaps. But its still an exceptional carving and someone has taken the time, and gone to some amount of work. And, like Danny says, it doesn't matter either way whether its old and new.