Until recently, Castlerigg was not thought
to bear rock art, but in 1995 a large spiral carving was discovered on stone 11
(1). Following this there have been claims that up to five of the stones
bear decoration. We have photographed
all of the areas claimed to show art, but
have to say we feel that only one
of these can definitely be said to be artificial. Three of the remaining four
show grooves or surface features that are look very much like natural features, and we could
find no trace of the elusive "giant
spiral" on stone 11 that started the rock art rush at Castlerigg.
The stones in question are shown red in the map above, the small blue arrows show the face of each stone which is said to bear rock art. Click on a stone to see detailed photos and make up your own mind.
1. Beckensall, S. British Prehistoric Rock Art, p125-6, Tempus Publishing, 1999