3-016-826 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Incised stones on the Cheviot Hills, 1864. '...markings, which are supposed to belong to a very remote period of British history, before the Roman Conquest...The circles vary in diameter from 2 in. or 3 in. to nearly 2 ft...In the vicinity of Doddington, near Wooler, some hundreds of them exist; indeed, wherever the native rock is exposed, some of them may usually be seen. The rock is sandstone. Owing to the hardness of the stone of the district, and the fact that in many instances the carved figures have long been protected by a covering of turf, the marks of the tool with which they have been carved are occasionally distinctly visible...The district about Doddington...is characterised by the presence of Celtic remains - such as barrows, stone circles, and camps...One very interesting fact connected with these enigmatical figures is, that in several instances they have been found upon stones covering Celtic interments. No satisfactory answer has yet been given to the question which naturally arises - What purpose were these strange devices intended to serve ...The fact that they occur on stones used for covering the remains of the dead seems to indicate that they have a religious significance in relation to the rites of sepulture'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.