Happened across this little stone while trying to find a path from Dragon's Den near Wharncliffe Crags to the road. It's not marked on the OS map and I'm not sure if it has a prehistoric origin, but there are what appears to be two cup marks on it's face. Other ancient sites lie nearby with a settlement just up the way, and Walder's Low cairn almost within site.
Situated on the top of Wharncliffe Crags. A series of enclosures formed by stone and turf banks surveyed and later excavated by the late L.H. Butcher and members of Hunter Archaeology Soc. 1958-1960.
The excavation revealed a cobbled floor and entrance plus post holes. The finds were mostly of roman pottery including some Samian ware. It was concluded therefore as a Romano-British settlement
There is a long standing legend that this was once a church of Whitley village (now lost). It is also in the area associated with the Dragon Of Wantley. There is no such place as "Wantley" and I wonder if it could be a corruption of the place name Whitley.
See above plan for results of the excavation.
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Posted by Kozmik_Ken
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