 The 'Second Idol Stone' - grooves and cups marked with water for clarity. |
|
Between the huts of
the Backstone Beck enclosure and
Backstone Beck itself are three carved
rocks (two of them are dealt with in Backstone
Beck Stones 1). The third stone is a little different however. On a rectangular 130x80cm low stone at SE12834615 are a series of twenty-four cups and five deep grooves. Nine of the cups are zoned within a groove at the northeastern end of the stone and a further six cups form a line between the edge of that groove and another groove that runs nearly the entire length of the stone. This long groove is particularly deeply carved. The rock is very similar to the Idol Stone 500 metres to the southeast, could it be that they were carved by the same person? Probable Date: Bronze Age See also: Backstone Beck Stones 2 on the opposite side of the beck Ilkley Moor & Rombalds Moor introduction and site list |
  References: Boughey, K.J.S. and Vickerman, E.A. 2003. Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding. West Yorkshire Archaeology Service. |
