stone carvedwith history

The stone carving was unearthed in 2005 at a place known locally as Chapel Hill in Hartlington near Burnsall in the Yorkshire Dales.

The 1,000-year-old artefact, which has become known as the Hartlington Cross, would have originally been at the top of a tall shaft marking the burial site of a Thegn or Chief in the 900s AD.

The carving shows the influence of the Hiberno-Norse style – Vikings who came to England from Ireland in the 10th century – indicating that Vikings settled in the area and adopted the Christian religion.

The name ‘Hartington’ is much older and stems from ‘Heortla’ and ‘ingatun’ which means the farm belonging to Heortla’s people.