Investigators made their first expedition onto a wild and windy Rombalds Moor in a project to capture the images from hundreds of ancient carved stones... continues...
Rock on... stalwart's long quest to preserve carvings
When Warwick Peirson stumbled on markings on a stone highlighted by snow little did he know it was to spark a passion which would span more than 30 years... continues...
Prehistoric Ilkley Moor carvings to be preserved in 3D
Prehistoric carvings on Ilkley Moor are to be preserved with help from the latest technology so future generations will be able to enjoy and study them.
Archaeologists hope to create digital 3D models of the carvings amid fears the originals could be eroded away... continues...
A new volunteer led project which aims to record all the rock art on Rombalds Moor will launch with a public event on Saturday 6th November 2010. The full day event will include a morning of presentations covering rock art, the project background, recording methodologies and a guided walk in the afternoon... continues...
A GROUP set up to protect and improve areas such as Ilkley Moor in the South Pennines has won a grant of nearly £1 million from the European Union.
The Standing Conference of Southern Pennine Authorities (SCOSPA) has picked up a grant of £850,000 after joining forces with partners from four other European countries... continues...
Armed with my new copy of "Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding" (PRAWR), the plan was to do all the interesting-looking sites in the book over the space of a few days.
The forward planning was extensive. Said sites had their 10-figure grid references plotted onto Fugawi, printed off and downloaded onto the GPS.
The plan was to start with North Rombalds Moor. What I had not bargained for was the time it would take to get round just these sites. Two days to get round these alone.
No problem with finding the sites at all. This was the first time I'd used a GPS for rock art and it's difficult to see how I managed without it beforehand. Straight to within sighting distance of the stone every time.
The problem was just the sheer number of sites combined with their spectacular location which meant we spent time just soaking up the landscape.
Must have stayed at The Badger Stone for the best part of an hour. Nice of them to provide a seat.
So N Rombalds Moor was all that was covered and the rest will have to wait.
Back home the task is now matching up the sites with what is already on TMA - not easy with so many sites on Rombalds Moor alone. Some are already here under their own name and some are part of a group.
Where the site does not appear to have an entry already, there is the fun of choosing a name. Of course, you could just name them after the PRAWR classification numbers but that would be unromantic. However, as that publication is one which I expect future visitors will use a lot, I have cross-referenced to their numbers.
I visited Rombald's Moor as a result of finding this web-site. I saw lots of stuff up there but could not nail down Ashlar's Chair, and the pancake stone. I saw the stone that Chris calls the Goth Stone. Not having a camera on me, I did not remember it until now. I have never seen anything like it before. I was surprised by the amount of 18th and 19th century carved graffiti up there.
What can I say about Rombald's Moor. I've only been a couple of times, both in the last couple of weeks. I don't know why 'cause it's probably the closest major site to my home. On the first visit I headed straight for the Twelve Apostles. It was getting late, and I was stuck for time. So for my latest visit (9/2/2) I got there nice and early in the morning, and spent a full day. I ended up spending a lot of my time huddled over the sexy Badger Stone, with a tour of some of the other attractions to follow.
All I can say is this has made my love of all things megalithic even more intense. The whole moor is like a playground for the imagination. A dreamlike quality pervades as you travel from stone to stone. After a while I found myself putting my map and list of grid refs away and just looking, the place is literally full of rock art.
It is a very powerful place.
On the downside a lot of the stones are vandalised. I can understand a need to leave a mark behind, almost in the tradition of these stones themselves - but there are plenty of unmarked rocks scattered across the moor. It just seems like people want to destroy this wonder on their doorstep. Perhaps if folk were educated correctly, and taught to have a sense of pride in this, their true heritage, then maybe it wouldn't happen, who knows.
A word of warning: Be prepared for strange looks from the runners and walkers... :)
This moor, sandwiched between the beautiful Wharfedale valley to the north and Bradford city to the south, is one of the most inspiring, mystery-riddled places I know of. The famous Ilkley Moor is merely a part of it - although it is this particular area, to the north near Ilkley town and the River Wharfe (sacred to the snake goddess Verbeia) that is most densely populated with fabulous cup-and-ring carvings and strange, strange tales both old and new. The best I can do here is recommend a few spots (get OS Sheet SE 04/14 Pathfinder 671 of Keighley & Ilkley):
- Up Backstone Beck, opposite the dishevelled but still-buzzing Backstone Circle (OS 1261 4613), are the remains of a Bronze Age dwelling (OS 1310 4590). It goes much further back than that, though - archaeologists have found evidence of Mesolithic dwellings here, perhaps 10,000 years old or more.
- As you approach the more from Ilkley town, the White Wells (old spa bath, presently a tea-and-cakes place) become obvious. To the west is a clump of trees with a waterfall beneath it flowing onto a ford (OS 1155 4660). This mound is a really special place. Local people leave wreaths to dead loved ones here. At the top of the mound is a massive carved boulder, too. When looking at the mound from below, I imagine the waterfall to be sacred fluids flowing from a cunt, and the mound to be the prone form of the local goddess Verbeia. The two stream either side even correspond to the image on her altar (which you can still see in All Saints' Church in Ilkley town, next to the bridge over the Wharfe - well worth a peek).
- The Badger Stone (OS 1108 4605) is fantastic, such a seductive curve to the boulder - though sadly the prolific carvings are fast fading. A very powerful place, I've found - treat it with respect.
- The Swastika Stone (OS 0956 4695) is a must - a wonderful curvy armed cross carved at least 3000 years before the Nazi's decided they had a monopoly on this ancient symbol. Extreme right-wing graffiti and stickers have been spotted up here - but their attempts to associate themselves with the archaic petroglyph merely underlines their simple-minded dumbfuckness. Sadly enclose by railings due to graffiti - be sure to look past the Victorian copy at the front to the fainter original.
- The Doubler Stones (OS 0722 4649) are great. Totally natural (apart from the basins and cups on top), they basically look like two ginormous mushies. Watch out for the close-by farmer, especially if you're looking for the smaller organic cousins of the stones...
- The Buck Stones (OS 0920 4560) are again a natural formation, and again are great. A bit of a mess compared to the beautifully sculpted Doubler Stones, but there's the power - a very primal, raggedy place.
There's much more to discover, and I'll leave my review brief so that you have fun exploring for yourselves. And remember to take more litter away than you bring!
"This moor, according to legend, took it's name from a giant Rombald, who favoured it a good deal. The large block of sandstone at it's eastern end, known as the calf, which lies at the foot of the mass of rock called the Cow, bears an indentation which is said to be the imprint of the foot of the giant, who, in taking a stride from the Cow to Great Alms' Cliff, several miles away, broke the calf off and sent it rolling down the hillside."
The Enchanting North
J.S. Fletcher
Pub. Eveleigh Nash
1908
More info, fieldnotes, folklore, sites etc. can be found as Paul Bennett's comment on Grubstones PID 2566 over on The Megalithic Portal as of yesterday.
Review and order form for Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding. Keith Boughey and Edward Vickerman. ISBN 1 870453 32 8. Price £14.00 plus £4.50 postage and packing.
A transcript of J. Horsfall Turner's "Ancient Bingley" published in 1897. Only the first 20-30 pages of this .pdf document are relevant, the rest is more recent stuff.
Ashlar Chair is on a path heading S between Ilkley Moor and Bingley moor. There is a triangular intersection of paths at SE1236946361 c. 100 yards S of Ilkley Crags. Take the path heading S for Twelve Apostles Stone Circle. After c. 0.8 mile there is a path heading W at SE1251345130. ( You are only 150 yards short of Twelve Apostles Stone Circle at this point so a short detour to the circle would be sensible.) Take the W path for c. 400 yards to reach a junction at SE122094521. Take the L turn heading S for c. 450 yards to reach a dry stane dyke. Ashlar Chair is within 20 yards L of the path adjacent to the N side of the wall.