Monument record MDR9908 - Rock art, Ladybower Tor, Derwent

Two very weathered rock carvings of prehistoric 'rock art' were discovered during a large scale survey of Bamford and Moscar Moors made during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and unreported until 2001. The carvings consist of two designs, one being a double ringed oval and the other a ring or spiral with what appears to be a swastika inside. These rock carvings are probably the most northerly in the Peak District and are unique on the East Moors. (1) A flat-topped earthfast slab near the crest of a ridgetop millstone grit outcrop has two badly worn motifs set close together. These are still clearly seen in bright but low-raked sunlight. One motif comprises three concentric or penannular rings, now discontinuous but possibly joined to one side by loops rather than defining the full circuit. There is no central cup. The other motif has a surrounding ring that is broken, the pecked line looping outwards, one in a tight spiral-like curl. Within this ring is an unusual abstract design with five radial lines running out from a central area, each splitting near its outer end into two short arms going in opposite directions. (2)