Monument record MDR3820 - Rock art, Rowtor Rocks, Birchover

Five examples of rock art have been found on the western end of the prominent gritstone crag of Rowtor Rocks. The best preserved of these consists of three large cups with a distinctive steep-sided section, surrounded by single and double rings, together with less symmetrical elements. Two further examples, one badly weathered, are of a simple cup and ring. The fourth carving has a cup surrounded by an incomplete ring which bends away with a long snake-like extension; further possible curved lines and cups also exist. The last and most unusual carving is comprised of narrow grooves, badly weathered, which form a complex symmetrical design combining a central cross with four cups, two concentric rings and nine or ten 'U' shaped grooves. Associated with this carving are traces of small cups, two of which have rings. Several other rocks on the outcrop have possible cupmarks. Although Rowtor Rocks was extensively modified in the late 17th or 18th century, it is unlikely that the carvings formed part of this, not least because all five are on the only part of the outcrop crest which received no drastic modification. Although the Rowtor Rocks carvings cannot be dated, it is thought that the majority of Derbyshire rock art probably dates to the third or second millennia BC. (1)