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A prehistoric carved rock with four cups 620m north of Brier Dykes, Baldersdale, is a Bronze Age rock art monument consisting of a natural stone surface decorated with four cup marks. Cup and ring marks represent one of the most characteristic forms of prehistoric rock art in northern Britain, typically assigned to the Bronze Age, though their precise dating and purpose remain subjects of scholarly debate. The monument's location in Baldersdale, within the upland landscape of the Pennines, places it within a region rich in Bronze Age archaeological features including cairns, barrows, and other ritual or territorial markers. The four cups are among numerous examples of such carvings recorded across Yorkshire and the wider north of England, which may have served ritual, territorial, or astronomical functions.
A prehistoric carved rock with four cups 620m north of Brier Dykes, Baldersdale is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1016593. View the official record →
A prehistoric carved rock with four cups 620m north of Brier Dykes, Baldersdale, is a Bronze Age rock art monument consisting of a natural stone surface decorated with four cup marks. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1016593.
A prehistoric carved rock with four cups 620m north of Brier Dykes, Baldersdale is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1016593.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Roman signal station 190m north west of Vale House Farm (7.5 km), Romano-British settlement site to the east and south-east of East Mellwaters farmhouse (7.8 km), Bowes Castle (7.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of A prehistoric carved rock with four cups 620m north of Brier Dykes, Baldersdale's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
A prehistoric carved rock with four cups 620m north of Brier Dykes, Baldersdale stands on Yoredale Group, bedrock that formed in the Bashkirian. The rock here is limestone, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.