Only one face is visible. [2]

The fragment consists of the middle section of a round-shaft derivative. It is cylindrical in section below the pendant swag and rectangular above. The lower section is undecorated. A flat corner moulding continues along each edge and round the swag. Within the panel at the base is a naturalistic profile quadruped, facing to the left. Above it is a smaller quadruped and, above that, the legs of a third animal.

The form of the shaft, in which the transition from lower circular section to upper rectangular is marked by a swag, is a well known type to the west of the Pennines. The best example of it is the Gosforth cross, Cumberland (Bailey and Cramp 1988, 100–4), and this piece is very close to the Gosforth Master's style (Bailey and Lang 1975). The profile naturalistic animals are placed in sequence on the flat faces without transverse mouldings and the proportions of the shaft also resemble those of the Cumbrian shaft. To find such a close parallel on the eastern side of northern England broadens the usually accepted range of the type and extends the outer limits of the province. Another fragment at Gilling West, North Riding (Collingwood 1907, 322, figs. j–m on 323) is of identical form and carries a winged motif also in the Gosforth manner.

The interpretation of the animal scene is most likely that of a stag hunt. Local parallels, such as Middleton 1 and Stonegrave 7, provide a context, though the 'hart and hound' motif stretches to Kirklevington, North Riding (Collingwood 1907, 351, fig. i on 350) to the north, and to Lancaster, Lancashire, and the Isle of Man to the west (Collingwood 1927, 150–2). A form of the hart and hound appears on the Gosforth cross (Ill. 915). There are also Irish and Pictish sculptural examples of the motif.

1. The following is a general reference to the Ellerburn stones: Allen and Browne 1885, 353.
2. Due to the stone's location and poor condition, the surviving ornament is most clearly seen in oblique natural light (best before midday).