Prehistoric Art on the Moor? Alleged Cup-Marked Boulder at Holming Beam

The cup-marked boulder. But is it prehistoric?

If true, this would be an artifact of great significance. The stone was identified in 1980 by T. A. Greeves as an example of a 'cup-marked boulder', a type of prehistoric art that is widespread across Western Europe. The stone has what appears to be 14 cup-shaped hollows carved into it.

Two other examples have been tentatively identified on Dartmoor: one at Brisworthy and another at Dunstone. This third example can be seen on the long road leading to the car park at Holming Beam, SX594752.

But is it what it appears to be? Other explanations have included an early-20th century tinners' mortar stone and a stone associated with the nearby prison at Princetown. The stone is now incorporated into a dry-stone wall. At some point it had the number '18' painted on it and the stone was then reused and inverted when it was placed into the Holming Beam wall. 18 became 81.

H. Riley, in 1994, wrote that: "This granite block, built into the stone wall which forms the eastern boundary of Long Plantation, appears to be a mortar stone. The granite block measures 0.7 meters wide by 0.5 meters high; its thickness cannot be measured. There are approximately 12 circular depressions on its eastern face. These measure between 0.075 and 0.1 meter in diameter and up to 0.05 meters in depth. There are two rows of three depressions; the others are arranged at random. The mortar stone itself appears to be part of a relatively recent wall repair and is upside-down to its previous position. Its original location is unknown. The figure 18 is painted on its eastern face, suggesting a previous use by the military or the prison authorities".

I would like nothing more than the carving on the stone to be proven to be of a prehistoric origin. But exceptional claims require exceptional evidence and it seems, in this case, as though the jury is still out.

The mystery stone of the road to Holming Beam.