Registry of Deeds Newstead Road Wakefield, WF1 2DE 01924 306797 [email protected]

HAYSTACK ROCK: MOOR A tourist’s guide to interesting archaeological sites in West

The Haystack is one of the most prominent cup and ring marked rocks on Ilkley Moor.

Description The Haystack is a large prominent boulder standing on Green Crag Slack on Ilkley Moor. It has been given the name in fairly recent times because its outline resembles the shape of an old-fashioned haystack with two of its sides sloping down from a central ridge.

The upper surface of the Haystack is covered with 70 cups (hollows carved into the surface of the stone). Some of these also have rings incised around them. There are also a number of interlocking grooves cut into the stone.

The function of these cup and ring markings, as they are known, is unclear. The problem of interpretation is further complicated by the fact that not all of the pattern may have survived. For example the design could originally have been coloured and the pigment could have been washed away, or definition could have been lost due to erosion on the surface of the rock. There is also a problem of viewpoint with some carved rocks. Where there are markings on a low flat rock this would present little problem. However, with rocks like the Haystack where the cups extend over the top of a huge boulder there is no easy way to see the whole design at once.

1

Dating Evidence There is no direct evidence which will allow us to date the cup and ring marked rocks of Ilkley Moor but most archaeologist believe that they were made either in the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age (about 2,000 BC).

How to get there The Haystack can be approached from several directions on foot. Car drivers should park in the public car park at the foot of the Cow and Calf Rocks. Follow the flagged path up the side of the Cow and Calf. Once you have reached the plateau at the top look ahead and slightly to the left where you will see another path rising steeply upwards to the next plateau. The Haystack is near the top of this path.

There is also another carved Rock the Idol Stone, a short distance away.

When walking on the moors, please follow the Countryside Code.

This guide was written by Dave Weldrake (© WYAAS 2010)

More information on Later Prehistoric Research Agenda the WYAAS website

Location The Haystack Rock is situated on to the south of Ilkley at SE 1302 4630. Click here for map.

NB: There is more information about Haystack Rock and other historic sites in held within the West Yorkshire Historic Environment Record (HER), Contact us via 01924 306797 or [email protected]. Alternatively search our records online via the Heritage Gateway website - www.heritagegateway.org.uk

2