The 7.6 metre high, hand hewn monolith is the tallest standing stone in Britain and dominates the corner of the Rudston Village Churchyard in which it has stood since the late Neolithic period or early Iron Age, between 4000 BC and 800 BC.
The gritstone rock has two flat faces and a pinnacle, the latter having been capped in lead in 1773.
If you look closely there is a surface feature possibly being the footprint of a dinosaur.
It has been an object of much study and speculation as to its purpose, historical significance, the origin of the stone itself and why it was positioned, perfectly vertical in this location, a remote rural area just inland from the Yorkshire Coastline.
Periodic excavations suggest there is a further 1.5 metres below the surface and numerous skulls found in situ point to a sacrificial site of Pagan Man.
At an estimated weight of 40 metric tonnes the rough conglomerate gritstone is alien to the Rudston area of clay,silt, sand and gravel overlaid on Flamborough Chalk.
The closest deposits of the rock are at Cayton Bay just to the south of Scarborough and in more distant locations in the Cleveland Hills.
It is not clear where the monolith material was sourced from but whether near or far the physical effort required for early man to bring it to Rudston is another mind-boggling issue.
The quarrying will have been a major endeavour in itself with stone axes and wooden implements the only tools available. Well before the invention of the wheel it is thought that tree trunks may have been used to form a rolling road to take the Monolith to a watercourse.
The geography of the era will have been challenging in the absence of nothing more than foot worn tracks at best and the thickly wooded landscape before clearance for farming. The longest leg of the journey, from either of the speculated staring points, will have involved similar intensive labour with the full 9m or so dead weight man handled onto a crude raft or platform fashioned from dried beech or similar for maximum buoyancy and stability.
The distant ancestors of the current Rivers Derwent and Rye ran through to the Vale of Pickering also likely to have been under water for some seasons of the year.
An alternative theory, but infinitely more hazardous, is that the Monolith was floated down the River Esk to Whitby followed by a sea journey. Neolithic and Iron Age Man were not really known as mariners. Tidal variations and the rocky cliffs above Flamborough Head may not have been readily navigable.
Smaller rivers and streams, meandering through the countryside would present tight bends and perilous shallows for negotiation by the abnormal load.
The final part of the epic haulage presented further difficulties of undulating terrain. The whole journey is ilkely to have taken many months or years.
The Monolith, perfectly erect, will have formed a focal point for Pagan rituals and in the surrounding topography there are a number of burial mounds with, from archaeological studies estimating around 1000 graves, a good proportion of the original resident population for that era.
Christianity was introduced to the area around 615 AD with conversion of the Parisii Tribe and following the usual practice any Pagan Temples were replaced with a Christian Church.
The Rudston Monolith will have been spared from destruction by its sheer size and strength but not so any wooden or similar structures in proximity.
Coming across the imposing stone in the churchyard is still a sobering sight even after quite a few touristy-type excursions to show it to friends and relatives.
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The gritstone has not weathered or tarnished over the millenia although does bear graffitti and other etchings from visitors over the last couple of centuries. It is a rare object .
We may not unravel its full story or fully appreciate what took place in its shadow at the height of its potency and influence.
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