Reliefs
Each of the four sides of the cross is intricately decorated with reliefs divided into panels depicting figures (west side only), animals, chequers, vine scrolls, interlace knots, as well as a sundial. The north, west, and south sides of the cross feature runic inscriptions. The largest relief on the side with figures is, as at Ruthwell, Christ treading on the beasts, below Saint John the Baptist. At the bottom, below a panel of runes, is a much-discussed figure of a falconer, who is possibly St. John the Evangelist with his eagle in an unusual depiction, possibly misunderstood from a Syrian model of John with an oil-lamp.
The sundial on its surface "is by far earliest English sundial to survive", divided into the four 'tides' which governed the working day in medieval times.
Read more about this topic: Bewcastle Cross