Bowlees

Hi folks,

I came across the following reference on the Keys to the Past website and wonder if any one has any information on this site. Mr Hob tells me that the site doesn’t appear on the MAGIC Map and I can’t find a refererence to it in the Beckensall Archive.

It all sounds rather tasty and I wouldn’t mind having a mooch up there but as a few of you may know, some of the western sites on the Durham SMR are a little, perhaps, over-enthusiastically described.

“Bowlees, Carr Crags; prehistoric ritual site.This unusual monument was probably a religious site in the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age (2500BC to 2000BC). There is a group of rocks arranged in a “keyhole” shape and carved with large cup marks. A huge stone block lies in the centre. There are over 21 rocks, with over 300 cup marks carved into them. Little is known about this site, and there are no others like it in the North East. “

Linear inscribed Stone Gilmonby Moor Co Durham

Found this Linear inscribed stone sitting on top a field wall that crosses an area of open heather moorland.
The top surface is smooth and may be a section of a saddle quern the inscribed lines are random distributed over the top surface could these be the result of cut marks made by a flint tool? Or was the stone reused as prehistoric butchers block? There are many unanswered questions about these markings some are certainly the result of farming practices others exhibit parallel lines and may be barter marks. On some examples are a few lines forming a lattice these could be associated with some form ritual practice.
Whatever use these stones had we can only speculate on this!
Stoneman