The Rudston Monolith at over is the tallest

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

( standing stone) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is situated in the churchyard in the village of

Rudston Rudston is a small village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Driffield and Bridlington approximately west of Bridlington, and lies on the B1253 road. The Gypsey Race (an intermittent stream) ru ...

() in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

Description

The stone is slender, with two large flat faces. It is approximately wide and just under thick. The top appears to have broken off the stone. If pointed, the stone would originally have stood about . In 1773 the stone was capped in lead; this was later removed, though the stone is currently capped. The weight is estimated at 40 tonnes. The monolith is made of gritstone. The nearest source for the stone (Cayton or Cornelian Bay) is north of the site, although it may have been brought naturally to the site as a

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundre ...

. The monument dates to the

Late Neolithic In the archaeology of Southwest Asia, the Late Neolithic, also known as the Ceramic Neolithic or Pottery Neolithic, is the final part of the Neolithic period, following on from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and preceding the Chalcolithic. It is some ...

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. A possible fossilised dinosaur footprint is said to be on one side of the stone, though a study by English Heritage in 2015 concluded that the claim was unsubstantiated. There is one other smaller stone, of the same type, in the churchyard, which was once situated near the large stone. The

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

church was almost certainly intentionally built on a site already considered sacred, a practice common through the country – indeed the name of Rudston comes from the Old English "

Rood A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...

-stane", meaning "cross-stone", implying that a stone already venerated was adapted for Christian purposes. The many other prehistoric monuments in the area include four

cursus 250px, Stonehenge Cursus, Wiltshire 250px, Dorset Cursus terminal on Thickthorn Down, Dorset Cursuses are monumental Neolithic structures resembling ditches or trenches in the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Relics found within them i ...

es, three of which appear to converge on the site of the monolith.

Antiquarian accounts

Sir William Stukeley found "the dimensions of the monolith within ground as large as those without". Stukeley found many skulls during his dig and suggested they might have been sacrificial. Thomas Waller states that in 1861 during levelling of the churchyard the surface of the ground near the monolith was raised .

References

External links

*
Photos and history of the stone compiled by Mike Thornton
{{European Standing Stones Prehistory of the East Riding of Yorkshire Megalithic monuments in England Stone Age sites in England Archaeological sites in the East Riding of Yorkshire Grade I listed buildings in the East Riding of Yorkshire Bronze Age sites in the East Riding of Yorkshire

Description

Antiquarian accounts

See also

References

External links