 A possible fossilised dinosaur footprint is said to be on one side of the stone, though a study by English Heritage in 2015 concluded that this claim was unsubstantiated.There is one other smaller stone, of the same type, in the churchyard, which was once situated near the large stone.The Norman church was almost certainly intentionally built on a site that was already considered sacred, a practice common through the country – indeed the name of Rudston is thought to come from the Old English "Rood-stane", meaning "cross-stone", implying that a stone already venerated was adapted for Christian purposes.