A petrosomatoglyph is a supposed image of parts of a human or animal body in rock. They occur all over the world, often functioning as an important form of symbolism, used in religious and secular ceremonies, such as the crowning of kings. Some are regarded as artefacts linked to saints or culture heroes.
The word comes from the Greek (, 'stone'), (, 'body'), and (, 'to carve'). Feet are the most common; however, other features including knees, elbows, hands, heads and fingers are also found.
Stylised representations of parts of the body are often open to dispute and are therefore on the fringes of acceptability as identifiable petrosomatoglyphs. Natural objects, such as rock crystals and rock formations which look like petrosomatoglyphs, whole animals, plants, etc., are collectively called "mimetoliths".
Definition and classification In archaeology and folklore studies, a petrosomatoglyph is a mark in stone interpreted as resembling a part of a human or animal body, most commonly a footprint. The term is used for both deliberate carvings and natural features in rock that people have understood as bodily impressions.
Such features appear in a range of cultural settings. Some belong to traditions of rock art or prehistoric ritual landscapes, while others became associated with religious stories, local folklore, or the legendary actions of saints, heroes, and supernatural beings. In many cases the physical mark itself is simple, but the cultural meaning attached to it can be extensive.
For analytical purposes, researchers usually distinguish between two broad categories: natural formations and deliberately carved impressions.
Natural formations Some petrosomatoglyphs originate as natural shapes in rock that resemble parts of the body. Weathering, erosion, fossil traces, or other geological processes can produce hollows and contours that appear similar to footprints, hands, or other bodily forms.
Although natural in origin, such features often acquired cultural significance. Local traditions sometimes interpreted them as the marks of saints, mythic heroes, giants, or supernatural beings. In some regions these stones became associated with pilgrimage, healing traditions, or sacred landscapes, with the mark serving as a visible point where story and place intersect.
Carved impressions Other petrosomatoglyphs are deliberately created by human activity. These include footprints, handprints, or other body shapes pecked or incised into stone surfaces.
Archaeological examples occur in several contexts, including petroglyph traditions and ceremonial landscapes. In parts of northern Europe, carved footprints have been interpreted as elements of royal inauguration rituals. A ruler might stand within the carved outline of a foot as a symbolic act linking the king to the land and to the authority of earlier rulers.
These carvings illustrate how simple bodily forms could carry powerful symbolic meaning, serving as markers of identity, authority, or sacred presence within the landscape.
Animal petrosomatoglyphs
Dogs Petrosomatoglyphs attributed to dogs appear in medieval literature and later local traditions, particularly within Arthurian legend. In the Mabinogion, the tale of Culhwch and Olwen describes the hunt of the boar Twrch Trwyth by King Arthur and his companions, a narrative that anchors several landscape features in folklore.Jones, G. & Jones, T. (1973). The Mabinogion. Everyman Library.
One site linked to this tradition is Cefn Carn Cafall, a ridge near Builth Wells in Breconshire. A depression in a conglomerate boulder on the cairn has been identified in local tradition as the footprint of Arthur's hunting dog, Cafall.Folklore, Myths & Legends of Britain. (1973). Reader's Digest. London.Westwood, Jennifer (1985), Albion. A guide to Legendary Britain. Pub. Grafton Books. London. . P. 274. Such features are often interpreted as physical traces of legendary events, connecting specific places to narrative traditions. Local folklore holds that the stone cannot be permanently removed and will return to its original position if displaced.
The dog Cafall (also rendered as Cabal) appears in other Arthurian material, including the tale of Geraint, where it is named among Arthur's hunting dogs, reinforcing its place within the wider legendary tradition.Ralls-MacLeod, Karen & Robertson, Ian. (2003). The Quest for the Celtic Key. Luath Press. . P. 116.
In England, a related tradition is associated with the church at Blythburgh, Suffolk. Marks on stone surfaces there are attributed in local folklore to the Black Dog, a spectral figure said to have entered the church during a storm. Such marks are often interpreted within local belief as evidence of supernatural presence or events.Westwood, Jennifer (1985), Albion. A Guide to Legendary Britain. London: Grafton Books. . pp. 147–148. Horses Royal and other horses were sacred to Epona, the horse-goddess. Near Castell Cilan in Gwynedd, North Wales, is a stone embedded in the ground bearing the hoof-print of King Einion's horse.Baring-Gould, Sabine & al. The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain, Vol. II, pp. 422 ff. Chas. Clark (London), 1908. Hosted at Archive.org. Accessed 18 November 2014. At Llanllyfni in Wales is the hoof-print of the horse of St. Gredfyw.Pennick, Nigel (1996). Celtic Sacred Landscapes. Thames & Hudson. . P. 41. Close to Llyn Barfog in Wales is a hoof-print etched deep into the rock "Carn March Arthur", or the "Stone of Arthur's Horse", which was supposedly made by King Arthur's mount, Llamrai, when it was hauling the terrible Addanc, or "afanc" monster, from the lake. At the Creiqiau Tylwch near Llangurig, Oliver Cromwell is said to have ridden his horse over the precipitous rocks and left behind a hoof print.Llangurig Parish Retrieved : 2012-09-22
Not far from the Devil's Quoit in St. Columb, on the edge of Goss Moor in Cornwall, is a large stone with four deeply impressed marks, known as "King Arthur's Stone". The marks are said to be footprints made by the horse upon which Arthur rode when he resided at Castle an Dinas and hunted on the moors. A Welsh legend has King Arthur pursuing Morgan le Fay, who turns herself into a stone. Arthur's steed leaps across the Bristol Channel, leaving its hoof-prints on a rock.
At Loch Loran in Kilmichael, Argyll and Bute, are five flat stones bearing what may be natural markings improved by light pecking. They lie under water near the inlet at the northern end of the loch and can be best seen in dry weather. Two of the markings are called the "Fairy Footprints", and close behind them are two ovals and several V-hollows suggesting large hoof-prints.*RCAHMS – various reports from the Historic Scotland Canmore website.
On Loch Etiveside, near Ben Cruachan in Argyll, is the place named "Horseshoes" indicating the stone by the loch's side where the horse belonging to the son of the winter hag (the Cailleach or Carlin) left its hoof-prints as it leapt across an arm of the sea.McKenzie, Donald A. Ancient Man in Britain. Gresham Publishing, London; p. 198
At Shielhill Bridge near Memus in Angus, Scotland, a Kelpie's cloven hoof mark is to be seen on a stone in the river.McHardy, Stuart (1999), Scotland: Myth, Legend & Folklore. Pub. Luath Press, Edinburgh. P. 62.
At Kelso in Roxburgh Street is the outline of a horseshoe where the horse of Prince Charles Edward Stuart cast a shoe as he was riding it through the town on his way to Carlisle in 1745.Westwood, Jennifer (1985), Albion. A guide to Legendary Britain. Pub. Grafton Books. London. . P. 378.
Sir Fergus Barclay, Baron of Ardrossan was in league with the devil, and in one of his dealings, he set the task of the devil to make ropes from sand; upon failing to do so, Satan kicked the castle with his hoof and left a hoof-print.Ardrossan & Neighbourhood. Guide. 1920s. P. 29–30.
A horse's hoof is carved on a rock at Eggerness in Galloway, Scotland.Brooke, Daphne (2006). Saints and Goddesses : The Interface with Celtic Paganism. Whithorn : Friends of the Whithorn Trust. 7th. Whithorn Lecture. page 17.
At Tedstone Delamere in Herefordshire, England, the Sapey Brook runs its course to Upper Sapey. A mare and a colt had been stolen, and the hoof-prints stopped at the bank of the brook. The owner prayed for their safe return and, upon examining the bed of the brook, saw hoof-prints clearly visible in the rocky bottom. These hoof-prints were followed and, the thief caught, the horses being safely recovered. The nearby Hoar Stone is said to be the horse thief petrified for his crimes. A later version involves Katherine of Ledbury as the owner of the horses.Westwood, Jennifer (1985), Albion. A guide to Legendary Britain. Pub. Grafton Books. London. . P. 262.
Other animals St Victor Petroglyphs Provincial Park, Saskatchewan, Canada, features footprint petrosomatoglyphs of bison, deer, elk and antelope.
Cattle At South Lopham in Norfolk, England is the Ox-Foot Stone, which previously lay in a meadow still known as the Oxfoot Piece, and bears the supposed imprint of an ox's foot. The legend goes that in a time of great famine, a miraculous cow appeared and provided a never-ending supply of milk to the starving poor. When the famine ceased, the cow struck its hoof against the stone leaving the imprint and then vanished. The stone itself is a flattish slab of sandstone about 60 cm x 90 cm, likely deposited during the last ice age as a Glacial erratic, and the 'hoofprint' is probably the imprint of a fossil bivalve. This part of East Anglia has virtually no naturally occurring stone (local geology being boulder clay with flints overlaid on chalk), so the Stone's very existence would have been notable. The stone now stands outside the door of Oxfootstone Farm House.Westwood, Jennifer (1985), Albion. A guide to Legendary Britain. Pub. Grafton Books. London. . P. 158–159.
A sacred Celtic bull is said to have left its hoof print in a stone "as if it were the softest wax" in a legend relating to Saint Ninian.Brooke, Daphne (2006) Saints and Goddesses : The Interface with Celtic Paganism. (7th. Whithorn Lecture.) Whithorn: Friends of the Whithorn Trust; page 17
St Victor Petroglyphs Provincial Park, Saskatchewan, Canada, contains grizzly bear paw print petroglyphs.
Mythical and folkloric beings
Fairies At Loch Loran in Kilmichael, Argyll and Bute, five flat stones bear markings that may be natural features later enhanced by light pecking. The stones lie beneath shallow water near the inlet at the northern end of the loch and are most visible during dry weather. Two of the markings are locally known as the "Fairy Footprints". They measure about 11 inches (28 cm) overall and lie close together, with narrow heels pointing across the loch. The left footprint may have artificially added toes. Nearby are several oval depressions and V-shaped hollows that have been interpreted as resembling large hoof prints.
The devil At the ruined Kirk of Lady, near Overbister on Sanday, Orkney, are the Devil's Fingermarks, incised as parallel grooves into the parapet of the kirk.
The 'Packstone' is a huge whinstone block to be found at the farm of that name near Muirhead, Shotts, Scotland. The story goes that the magician Michael Scot had relatives in the area and he employed the devil to build a bridge across the Firth of Forth at South Queensferry; however, he fell out with his builder and the devil threw down the 'pack' he was carrying. The marks of his shoulders are still to be seen on the stone.Grossart, William (1880), History of the Parish of Shotts. Glasgow. p. 15.