THE devastation caused by fires on the North York Moors had an unexpected redeeming feature with the uncovering an ancient stone and other extraordinary features.

Last September, a fire broke out on Fylingdales Moor, above Ravenscar.

By the time the flames were brought under control four days later, about 2km of heather moorland had been destroyed. The heat was so great that even the layer of peat underneath the heather had been burned away.

But it was this action which resulted in the extraordinary find - a 4,000-year-old carved stone which has caused so much interest.

Neil Redfern, English Heritage's inspector of ancient monuments, said: "There was so much material and a whole series of features.

"Aerial photographs showed us complete prehistoric field systems."

About 2,400 features were uncovered but it is the stone that resembles a map which has excited the most interest. A series of diamond shapes surrounding the main feature resemble an hour glass. "Is it a map or is it graffiti or a boundary marker?" said Mr Redfern. "There are so many ideas and we don't really know."

In the first phase of a three-year £55,000 project - funded by English Nature, English Heritage, the North York Moors National Park, landowners the Strickland Estate and the Court Leet, responsible for managing the moor - heather from neighbouring moorland was spread over the land.

A second phase will extend the project, funded by a £200,000 grant from the Government's Department for Rural Affairs under its Countryside Stewardship scheme.

"If we didn't do anything the landscape would just blow away," mr Redfern added.

The restoration work will mean that all of the discovered features, including the "map" stone will be covered over by grass and heather, leaving it hidden from view once more

"The stone has not been moved and we wanted to preserve it in situ," said Mr Redfern.