Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Rock Articles

Issue No.14: Autumn 2015

The nights are beginning to draw in so here is a packed issue of Rock Articles to keep you going through the winter months. With
lots of activity over the summer there are new finds to report from Scotland, Wales and Ireland and updates from rock art projects
and researchers across Britain sadly tainted by more episodes of vandalism and even a theft. On a positive note it is great to hear
of new work in south east England, a region not always associated with rock art but where there is a significant body of marked
stones now under investigation by the Cornwall Archaeological Society. This issue features contributions from students, volunteers,
heritage managers and academics, and covers rock art from the Palaeolithic to the 21st century, with thoughts from a contemporary
maker of rock art in County Durham. We are also pleased to bring you Part 2 of geologist Mike Howgates exploration of the
contribution of the natural features that make rock art identification and recording such a challenge this time looking at the
peculiar runnels and hollows at Roughting Linn and Old Bewick. Finally, for those who didnt make this years BRAG Conference in
Bristol we have a comprehensive report from Pete Style, which should encourage even more attendees next year in Liverpool
details to follow in April.
Kate
October 2015
kesharpe@outlook.com

Contents:

New British discoveries: finds from Ireland, Scotland and Wales ............................................................... 1

Rock art or not? Rock features from Keswick and Dorset .......................................................................... 2

British rock art news: projects, people, and publications .......................................................................... 3

World rock art on the web: international news and links ........................................................................... 7

Hendraburnick Quoit: by Andy M. Jones .............................................................................................. 9

A geological origin for rock art? Part 2: by Mike Howgate ................................................................. 11

Inspired by rock art: an interview with sculptor Jason Turpin-Thomson ............................................... 13

Looking under Long Megs daughters by Emma Watson .................................................................... 15

BRAG in Bristol: conference review by Peter Style ................................................................................. 18

Rock art reads ........................................................................................................................................ 20

Rock art abstracts: headlines from the journals ...................................................................................... 21

Further fieldwork and research at Cathole: by George Nash ............................................................. 22

Dates for the diary ................................................................................................................................. 23

NEW BRITISH DISCOVERIES

Ferenze Hills, East Renfewshire
Stephen Reid of Giffnock and his cousin,
Kerry Geddes from Shetland found a
significant new panel when out running in
the Fereneze Hills, between Barrhead and
Paisley. They reported it to the West of
Scotland Archaeology Service who have since
confirmed the presence of an impressive
group of cup-and-ring markings...reminiscent
of outcrops found in areas such as
Northumberland and Kilmartin, in Argyll. For
details see www.wosas.net/news/fereneze.html
Image: WOSAS

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Anglesey
Two new panels have been identified in the vicinity of Brynn Celli Ddu chambered tomb on
Anglesey. No details are yet available. A volunteer team led by archaeologists from Manchester
Metropolitan University and Cadw has also been working at the large cup-marked outcrop a few
hundred metres form the megalithic chamber. The panel, which comprises around 28 cup marks
was first recognised and recorded in 2005 by students from Bristol Unievrsity (see Nash et al
2005). The panel has now been recorded using laser scanning and areas around the base of the
outcrop have been excavated.
See more at:
https://tinkinswoodarchaeology.wordpress.com/2015/06/14/first-week-at-the-bryn-celli-ddu-rock-artoutcrop-excavation/
http://www.mmu.ac.uk/news/news-items/3603/
Nash, G.H., Brook, C., George, A., Hudson, D., McQueen, E., Parker, C., Stanford, A., Smith, A.,
Swann, J. & Waite, L. 2005. Notes on newly discovered rock-art on and around Neolithic burial
chambers in Wales. Archaeology in Wales, Vol. 45, 1116.

South Kerry
The South Kerry Discovery Programme has resulted in the discovery of 50
new rock art panels by Aoibheann Lambe, including this rare example of a
rosette and two joined cup-and ring marks forming an owl-like face. You
can see some of the fantastic finds in her album on the project Facebook
page at:
www.facebook.com/South-Kerry-Discovery-Programme-677781525691661/timeline/
Image courtesy of Aoibheann Lambe.

ROCK ART OR NOT?

Keswick, Cumbria
Spotted in the car park at Keswick public swimming pool
by Pete Style. Is this rock art? The boulder (volcanic?)
has about 20 cups all on one side.

Ashover, Kent
Reported by a member of the public to Adam Daubney,
Lincolnshire Finds Liaison. What could have
created these rock art-like patterns?

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

BRITISH ROCK ART NEWS: Projects, publications, and people

Crazy colouring in Kilmartin

Yorkshire theft

What possesses anyone to desecrate a

prehistoric site in this way is as much a
mystery as the carvings themselves.
Many readers will be familiar with the
incredible group of cup and ring marked
bedrock sites in the Kilmartin Valley in
Argyll. Here is the Cairnbaan panel as
you have never seen it before!

It is also our sad duty to report the theft

(yes!) of a cup and ring marked stone
from a stone wall in West Yorkshire. The
stone was recorded in 2003 by the Ilkley
Archaeology Group and in 2013 by the
CSI: Rombalds Moor Project Team (see
Low Fold Farm 01 on the ERA database).
It was last seen on 20 June 2015. CSI
volunteer Mike Short, who spotted that
something was amiss, reported:

The self-styled NikMegalithic recently

posted a series of images on Facebook
showing this outrageous chalk attack on
a Scheduled Monument. Would the
perpetrator think it OK to decorate the
Elgin Marbles in the same way? We
suspect notbut perhaps he was
inspired by the comedic references to
sprucing up Stonehenge made by
Laurence Llewellyn Bowen in his recent
ad for the National Lottery (www.nationallottery.co.uk/games/lp/lotto/please-not-them)

Both these incidents

clearly demonstrate
the value of detailed
and accurate
recording, so again
thanks to the CSI
Teams for ensuring
that although the
stolen stone is now
lost, it certainly isn't
forgotten. The rain
has now washed
away the chalk at
Cairnbaan. This panel
is also well
documented, not
least in the beautiful
drawings created by
Ian G. Scott and
published in
Kilmartin: prehistoric
and early historic
monuments. An
inventory of
monuments extracted
from Argyll, RCAHMS
Volume 6.

The carving on the rock was almost

completely concealed by the capstone
above and, sadly, this suggests that the
carved rock was 'sought out' and
removed by someone who knew of its
existence. Presumably to conceal the
removal of this little carving, it was
crudely replaced by an irregular piece of
walling stone from the adjacent wall.

Cochno stone uncovered

In 1964 a spectacular panel of rock art on the outskirts of Glasgow was buried
beneath a metre of soil and turf. This month, Ken Brophy from Glasgow University
opened up a trial trench to take a peek. Ken writes on his blog: This rock-art
splattered outcrop, rich with cups, cup-and-rings marks, spirals and two four-toed
footprints was deemed, in the 1960s, to be under threat from the urban expansion
of Glasgow. The Council-built estate of Faifley, now in West Dunbartonshire Council,
encroached almost to the Cochno Stone itself. Too close apparently. Houses were
built. Infrastructure was constructed. Power towers and electricity cables were
added.
The excavation was carried out in collaboration with Spanish heritage company
Factum Arte and the film-maker May Miles Thomas. The plan is to make a super
high resolution laser scan, and then recreate an exact replica, to sit in situ once the
real stone has been reburied. The stone was featured in Scots film maker May Miles
Thomas critically acclaimed feature The Devils Plantation, which traces ancient
landmarks that link modern Glasgow to its prehistoric past.
Top: sneaky peek at the Cochno Stone (image courtesy of K. Brophy).
Bottom: the full extent depicted by Ronald W. B. Morris. Box indicates approx. area uncovered.

Read more at:

Ken Brophys blog: https://theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com/2015/09/27/the-cochno-stone-exposed/
Factum Arte: www.factum-arte.com/pag/716/The-Cochno-Stone-Project-br--i--West-Dunbartonshire--Scotland---iMay Miles Thomas blog: www.devilsplantation.co.uk/blog/the-devils-plantation-cochno-revealed/
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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

ERA recording forms exported to China!

Report from Rebecca O'Sullivan. DPhil Archaeology Candidate, University of Oxford

The Altai Mountains straddle four countries (China, Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan)
and are rich with both carved and pigment-based rock-art dating from the Palaeolithic to
c.800 CE. This international setting means rock art is the focus of very different
academic traditions. For instance, Russian archaeologists emphasise the relationship
between rock-art and the landscape, whereas the Chinese approach varies between
viewing it as art or a substitute for historical texts. Common subjects include cattle,
goats, sheep, wolves, horses and humans, as well as chariots that demonstrate links
between Siberia and northern China.
Englands Rock Art (ERA) recording form was adapted to suit the local archaeology structures commonly found in Eurasia, like khirigsuurs (stone burial mounds) and deer
stones, were added to the section Prehistoric Features within 250 m. As the main way
of life is still pastoralist herding, the Altai is sparsely populated, thus the ERAs extensive
list of threats were reduced to weathering and erosion. Local attitudes to the forms
varied the Altai mountains represent a massive area with so much well-preserved
rock-art that the Mongolian guide was very impatient at the thought of completing a
form for every panel. The quick tick-boxes were, thus, useful for getting information
down before my guide wandered off.
For China, foreigners are not permitted to take GPS coordinates in zones
near international borders and, though I avoided taking any, my guide was
visibly nervous at the very fact that I was recording any information. As the
Chinese sites are rarely published in full, and invariably exclude any
discussion of the landscape, it is invaluable to possess data on the context
of individual panels and the surrounding environment features treated as
fundamental in the ERA forms.
Images courtesy of Rebecca OSullivan.

High res model of Ballochmyle created

The spectacular Neolithic rock art at Ballochmyle (NS 510 255) extends over three vertical panels on a cliff face overlooking a
tributary stream of the River Ayr. The cup-and-ring marks were recorded by RCAHMS in 1986 as a series of detailed pencil drawings
and have recently been recorded by AOC Archaeology using a combination of terrestrial laser scanning and photogrammetry. The
resulting visualisations capture the mysterious carvings in exceptional detail. This oblique visualisation of the third panel (which
measures about 9m in length) shows the high resolution geometric mesh (created using both laser scanning and photogrammetry)
overlain with the RCAHMS pencil drawing. The technique provides enhanced visual depth to the traditional illustration.
The work was commissioned by Forestry Commission Scotland. FCS Archaeologist Matt Ritchie explains further: "By commissioning
archaeological measured survey on Scotland's National Forest Estate, we enable conservation management, condition monitoring
and archaeological recording at our most significant historic assets. We also work with our stakeholders to use the Estate as a place
for research and the development of best practice. Although Ballochmyle lies outwith the Estate, we considered it an ideal site at
which to help further develop survey techniques and a creative visualisation methodology pioneered at Ormaig in Argyll".

Image courtesy of Matt Ritchie.

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Updated Management Plan for Ilkley Moor draws on CSIRM data

Bradford Council's Countryside and Rights of Way Service is
currently in the process of reviewing and updating its
Management Plan for Ilkley Moor. The moor is owned and
managed by the Council and is well known as a visitor
destination and a valuable habitat, particularly for groundnesting birds. The moors' status as Site of Special Scientific
Interest, Special Protection Area and Special Area for
Conservation means that a whole range of activities which occur
there need to be managed and balanced so that the important
protected features and species are not damaged or lost.
Key amongst these protected features is the substantial
coverage of recorded rock art - mainly cup and ring marked
stones - most of which are Scheduled Monuments. Ilkley Moor
and the wider Rombalds Moor contain one of the most
significant concentrations of prehistoric rock art in Britain, so the
Management Plan for the moor tries to ensure their continued
survival, despite potentially high levels of disturbance.
Danny Jackson, Countryside and Rights of Way Manager for Bradford Council said: "We were aware that a significant amount of
recording and monitoring of the rock art had been undertaken on the moor through the CSI Rombalds project. The volunteers
involved had made detailed assessments of every panel on the moor, in terms of its location and condition. They also set out what
they regarded as the most significant threats to the panels. We made extensive use of this information - set out in a detailed report when writing the Management Plan and, specifically, in setting out the approaches we would adopt in managing this important prehistoric landscape. It was heartening to see in the report that about 80% of the panels were judged to be still in their original
position, and that despite the heavy use of the moor the majority of panels remain remarkably undamaged by animal or human
activity - although atmospheric processes have taken their toll on some panels. We won't be complacent however and will seek to
ensure, through the plan, that these items remain available to see and study in the future. We are grateful to the CSI volunteers and
co-ordinators for their valuable advice".

New project planned for Teesdale rock art

A community archaeology project developed as part of the Heart
of Teesdale Landscape Partnership scheme will take place under
the aegis of the Architectural and Archaeological Society of
Durham and Northumberland (maximum of 20 places) in late
September end October. The project will be managed by
Northern Archaeological Associates.
Four panels at Hawksley Hill a few miles north-west of Barnard
Castle will be the subject of detailed recording and a search for
additional examples in the vicinity both by surface inspection and
by excavation. An area around each of the carved rock outcrops
will be de-turfed and excavated in order to establish if there are
other potentially contemporary archaeological phenomena
nearby. Training will be provided in archaeological excavation,
survey, recording, and interpretation techniques.
If you are interested please email Penny Middleton at
pm@naa.gb.com

Cup-marked panel at Hawksley Hill (ERA-977).

Image from ERA database.

Altogether Archaeology celebrate the end of the beginning

The North Pennines AONM Partnerships award-winning Altogether Archaeology project led by Paul Frodsham celebrated their
achievements with a conference held at Durham Cathedral this month. Rock Articles has featured a number of AA projects, including
surveys and excavations at the Tortie Stone (RA07), and at Long Meg (RA09 and this issue). It seems the excellent work begun by
AA participants will continue with the formation of a new archaeology group (to keep the Altogether Archaeology name).
Just how to go about creating a new group was demonstrated in a talk by Phil Bowers. Phil and his wife Anne began as AA
volunteers, acquiring the skills and confidence to found their own group: Tynedale North of the Wall, who have a continuing interest
in rock art as a key part of the rich prehistoric landscape in their area. Their surveys of Ravensheugh (RA10), Sewingshields, and
Davys Lee continue to reveal more new panels amongst an array of cairnfields, settlements, and other features.
We wish the new AA group every success with future initiatives and hope they can follow the great example set by TNotW!

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Hydro scheme runs close to rock art cluster in Cumbria

In the last issue we reported on a
new cluster of cup-marked panels
between Ambleside and Rydal in
the Lake District. There are now
10 sites with 14 recorded panels
in the area, together with a small
prehistoric settlement which
includes at least six hut circles
(identified by Pete Style and
recorded by him with assistance
from National Park volunteers).
All the sites are located within
500 m of Scandale Beck, and
very close to the a new hydro
electric scheme which has
recently carved a swathe up the
fellside (see image).
Prior to the pipe-laying, an
archaeological
survey
was
commissioned. This covered a
study area extending to 500 m
either side of the hydro scheme,
and a walkover survey of the fell
within 100 m either side,
undertaken in June 2011.
Unfortunately, the rock art known within the study area at that time (found in 2010) had not been added to the HER, and a Group
VI stone axe on the database seems to have been overlooked: There is no evidence for activity or settlement in the study area
dating from this period." (p9-10; report available from the Lake District National Park Planning website, ref 7/2011/5417).

All of the panels now identified lie within the 500 m study area; the
settlement site and two of marked outcrops lie within the 100 m
walkover survey area. Perhaps the high bracken in June made
identification difficult? Hopefully no further examples fell victim to the
earth movers!

Figures show cup-marked outcrops near Rydal and views of the pipeline route. Images courtesy of Peter Style.

NOTE: All the panels are on private land.

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

WORLD ROCK ART on the WEB

News from all continents!

Colombia: Wild Magic - new film to reveal rich imagery of the jungle
Ancient art deep in the heart of Colombia will feature in a documentary by British wildlife filmmaker Mike Slee. With photographer Francisco Forero Bonell, Slee travelled by helicopter to an
area known as Cerro Campana in the Chiribiquete national park, a 12,000 square kilometre
Unesco world heritage site that is largely unexplored. The rock art includes images of human
figures, jaguar, crocodiles, deer, as well as symbols and hand motifs, painted in red on the
vertical rock faces.
Despite claims that this is a new discovery, the art was in fact first identified in 1994 by
Colombian researchers Carlos Castao and Thomas Van der Hammen.
Source:
www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/20/colombia-wilderness-film-maker-prehistoric-rock-art

Photograph: Francisco Forero

Bonell/Ecoplanet.

Echoes of rock
Steven J. Waller is an archaeo-acoustician who has studied prehistoric rock art and the
acoustics of ancient performance spaces. According to Waller, a common current runs through
many indigenous myths: a spirit living behind the rock surface calls out to passers-by to trap
them within the walls as well. Not by coincidence, the same indigenous groups often left their
paintings, petroglyphs and artefacts at locations within cavernous sites that helped to generate
the strongest echoes.
Read more at:
www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/05/2015/perfect-performance-spaces-echoes-of-the-past
Snake, bird, star at Petroglyh National
Monument, Mexico. Image: Lance and
Erin/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The colourful cows of Laas Geel, Somalia

The Laas Geel complex on the outskirts of Hargeisa in northwestern Somalia dates back 5,000
years. This vibrant rock art is excluded from international protection because no one recognizes
the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. Intrepid travellers to Laas Geel must be accompanied
by armed police and must leave before sundown when a tribe of baboons returns to sleep
there. The government in Hargeisa wants international assistance to preserve the site, but
Somaliland is still regarded internationally as part of Somalia, from which it broke away in 1991.
Somalia has yet to sign the UNESCO World Heritage Treaty, so the UN is unable to protect the
art. Read more at:
www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/laas-geel-complex-and-magnificent-ancient-rock-art-somalia003174
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/postcard-from-laas-geel-9686871.html
www.academia.edu/1471836/The_decorated_shelters_of_Laas_Geel_and_the_rock_art_of_Somaliland

Some of the many paintings inside the

Laas Geel caves, near Hargeisa in
Somaliland.

Tech helps rock art investigations in Texas

Digital microscopes, 3D imaging, and even a program that allows recreation of the art has led to
new discoveries by a team working on Texan rock art high above the banks of the Pecos River.
With a terabyte of data now collected, archaeologists are able to see previously unseen
patterns. "Just like detectives, we use those patterns to solve the crime (or) in this case, to
break the code, said Dr. Carolyn Boyd, research director and founder of the Shumla School, an
archaeological research centre.
Read full report at www.ksat.com/content/pns/ksat/news/2015/05/19/tech-helps-solve-mystery-behind4-000-year-old-rock-art.html
Visit the Shumla School website and take a virtual tour of the Panther Cave:
http://www.shumla.org/

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Carolyn Boyd offers new

interpretations of the regions rock art
Photo by Michael Amador.

Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

WORLD ROCK ART on the WEB

News from Columbia, Australia, Somalia
The giraffes of ancient India
A rock art site in Telangana, India discovered in 1990 by archaeologists Ramakrishna Rao and
S. S. Rangacharyulu, is currently being developed for visitors. The paintings reveal the variety of
wild animals that once existed in the region. One image depicts giraffe, now found only in
Africa. Other paintings represent bison, antelope, elephant, tiger, leopard, horse, crocodile,
scorpion, crab, fish, porcupine, insects, tortoise, lizard, langur, vultures, eagle, crane, peacock
and butterfly. Humans are depicted hunting, collecting honey, riding, fighting, and dancing.
Geometric shapes including swastikas, circles and squares also appear.
Read more at
www.deccanchronicle.com/150603/nation-current-affairs/article/12000-years-ago-giraffe-telangana
See the rock art at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXVRCn_QNpw and www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ2Qzlntjg8

Fragile First Impressions exhibition of Bininj art

Paul Daleys blog in the Guardian discusses an exhibition of photographs of indigenous rock art
by David Hancock, at Canberras Nishi gallery. The images, from west Arnhem Land, tell an
extraordinary story of first contact between the Bininj people and white explorers, hunters and
miners.
Read the full blog at:
www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2015/jun/03/its-old-and-its-fragile-but-rock-art-fromthe-stone-country-lives-to-tell-its-tales
See also: http://bininjgunwok.org.au/2014/fragile-first-impressions-a-threatened-archive-of-indigenousreportage/
More info at: www.icom-cc2014.org/docs/content/Cat-single-pages-Lres.pdf

X-ray image of a kangaroo.

Call for protection for Pilbara's Burrup Peninsula rock art

Archaeologist Dr Ken Mulvaney has called for wider public recognition and World Heritage status
for the rock art of this West Australian region: "One valley on the Burrup would amount to what

you'd find in a country in Europe, in terms of rock art. And its rock art that spans upwards of
30, possibly 40,000 years."

Despite this, says Mulvaney, governments have failed to pursue appropriate protection. Industry
associated with the North West Shelf oil and gas region has been developed on the Burrup
Peninsula since 1963. Opponents of the industry say over 20 per cent of the petroglyphs have
since been destroyed, but the West Australian government says the figure is less than 10 per
cent. Ironically, says Mulvaney, the destruction of the rock art had provided some of the best
understanding of what had been lost.
Read full report at:www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-10/pilbara-rock-art-tracks-ice-age/6533262

A petroglyph on the Burrup Peninsula

depicting a bird, possibly an ibis.
Image: Dr Ken Mulvaney.

Image analysis demystifies winged monster in Utah

The infamous dragon or pterodactyl at Black Dragon Canyon in Utah has caused heated
debate since it was first identified in 1928. Now analysis by archaeological chemist Marvin Rowe
using DStretch and x-ray fluorescence have revealed that the image is in fact composed of five
separate images, confused by leaching of the pictographs red ochre pigment, causing it to
bleed and fade and the development of a thin coating of calcium carbonate which obscures the
edges.
The processed images clearly show two human figures and three animals in the Barrier
Canyon style. Take a look at:
http://news.sciencemag.org/paleontology/2015/08/winged-monster-ancient-rock-art-debunked-scientists
Le Quellec, JL., Bahn, P. & Rowe, M. 2015. The death of a pterodactyl, Antiquity 89, 872-84.

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The winged monster before image

processing. Image: Whit
Richardson/Alamy

Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

HENDRABURNICK QUOIT: A rock art site in north Cornwall

By Andy M Jones

Hendraburnick Quoit lies to the north of

Camelford, between the north Cornish coast and
Bodmin Moor. It is situated on the top of a valley
side which overlooks the source of the River
Camel.
The site has variously been described by earlier
commentators as a ruined megalith and as a
natural feature. The number of stones said to
comprise the monument has also differed, with
some authorities referring to more than one
stone, and others just one capstone shaped
stone. It was, however, not until the 1980s that
the largest stone was recognized as being cupmarked. It was this, which led to the site being
visited by the author and Graeme Kirkham in
2012.
It was realised at this point that the site could
not be an in situ rock outcrop because the
underlying bedrock was of slate and the large
stone was in fact an epidiorite or greenstone. It
was also apparent that the large capstone,
which measures over 5m long, was propped up
on a bed of smaller slates and that a smaller
epidiorite stone measuring approximately 3m
long is located close to the east end of the larger
one. Although almost prone, this stone appeared
to be deeply embedded in the ground and was
found to bear a small number of cup-marks.
It was apparent that there was a rare
opportunity to investigate a rock art site which
was associated with stratigraphy, and there was
the possibility for securely dating the site.

Figure 1. The main concentration of cup-marks can be seen running along the upper edge of the stone (right side of picture).
The linear features can be seen extending down the stone from them and a feint curving line can just be seen
between the two elements (parallel with the cup-marks). (Photograph Alan Endacott)

...a rare opportunity to

investigate a rock art site
associated with
stratigraphy...

Excavations, funded by the Cornwall Archaeological Society took place in 2013, and
these proved to be highly rewarding. The smaller stone was found to be set in a deep
pit or socket, and it is likely to be a fallen standing stone. An Early Bronze Age
radiocarbon determination was obtained on charcoal from the socket (3367 26 BP,
1742-1610 cal BC, SUERC-53098). The large stone was found to be set upon a low
platform of slates around which was a kerb of water rolled quartz blocks. A Late
Neolithic radiocarbon determination (3963 25, 2571-2350 cal BC, SUERC-53100)
was obtained on charcoal from beneath the platform. Artefacts recovered from around
the site included flint-work, several pieces of which appeared to be deliberately
smashed, a faience bead and part of a broken greenstone mace-head.

A large amount of quartz was also recovered, much of which had been smashed. Initially it was thought that the quartz assemblage
was related to the production of the rock art. However, the quartz pieces were fractured by impact, rather than grinding and it
seems possible they had had been smashed together.
Gentle cleaning of the large stone revealed a large number of cup marks, the
majority of which were concentrated along the upper edge of the stone. It
was also found that in low light, especially in the late afternoon, when the sun
cast shadows across the stone there were fainter cup marks and linear
grooves, which radiated out from the upper part of the stone. This meant that
the rock art was most visible when visited during low light from the direction
of the River Camel below.
The project has therefore produced a significant set of results. We now know
that the large stone was dragged to the site and levered onto a platform. This
is likely to have occurred in the later Neolithic period. Arguably the rock art
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...when the sun cast shadows

across the stone there were
fainter cup marks and linear
grooves...

Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

was already on the stone as no stone tools were found which could have been used in its production, and no debitage was found.
The site appears to have retained its significance for a considerable period as a standing stone was erected beside it in the Early
Bronze Age and although some of the flint-work was of Neolithic date, a barbed and tanged arrowhead and faience bead are also of
Early Bronze Age date.
Recording the rock art has, however, proved more challenging. Photographs taken in the afternoon sunlight succeeded in capturing
some elements, including the greatest density of cup-marks which are found along the upper edge of the stone (Fig 1) The best
results, however, have been produced after dark by using oblique lighting and taking a series of overlapping photographs which
were used to create Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) images. These images reveal the linear elements, a series of lines
which radiate out from the cup-marks at the top of the stone and a shorter, feint curving line which runs below the cup-marks and
along the top of the longer linear grooves (Fig 2).

...the moonlight would have

cast shadows across the stone
and picked out the art...

Night time visits also revealed that it is likely that when the full moon was in
the right position, the moonlight would have cast shadows across the stone
and picked out the art. If night time visitations formed part of the use of the
site this may also help explain the quartz assemblage. When quartz pieces
are smashed together they can create strange luminescent effects, and
quartz also reflects in the moonlight. The quartz pieces which were found
around the site may have helped illuminate the rock art and have displayed
the symbolism associated with it.

Further recording of the surface of the stone is needed to capture the art in greater detail, and it is hoped that this can be achieved
as part of a wider rock art recording project in the county.
With many thanks to Ryan Smith for producing the RTI images.

Figure 2. The RTI image reveals the grooves running down the stone from the curving line (top right). (Photograph Ryan Smith).

I was taken by the power that savouring a simple

cup

[of coffee] can

have to connect people and create

community.
Howard Schultz

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

A GEOLOGICAL ORIGIN FOR ROCK ART? Part Two.

By Mike Howgate (Chairman, Amateur Geological Society)

The rock type into which the cup and ring markings of Northern Northumberland are cut is a massively bedded coarse sandstone
known as the Fell Sandstone. These strata are of Lower Carboniferous age and are sandwiched between the Cementstone Group
(the lowermost beds of the Lower Carboniferous) and the Scremerstone Group which contains workable coal seams and limestones.
The Fell Sandstones are extremely false bedded which made it difficult for the Geological Survey field geologists to determine the
true direction of the dip of the strata. The sloping surfaces into which many of the cup and ring markings are carved may be the
fore-set beds of a false bedded sequence; equally some may be on the glacially smoothed whalebacks or upstream surface of a
roche moutonne. The Geological Survey sheet memoir The Geology of Belford, Holy Island, and the Farne Islands (HMSO 1927)
remarks that the Fell Sandstones are in many places glacially smoothed and striated, and in others artificially sculpted with cups and
circles of very old date.
The adjacent Geological Survey sheet memoir The Geology of the Alnwick District (HMSO 1930) notes that a prominent feature of
the Fell Sandstone in a railway cutting near Edlingham is the presence of spherical cavities up to two feet in diameter ascribed by
the authors to the disintegrating effect of vegetable matter on the cemented sandstone. The abundant depressions at the summit
of the Old Bewick rock, and many others in the area, may have been initiated in a similar manner. A broken boulder on the way up
to Old Bewick shows the way the surface depressions are related to a network of sub-surface passages in the rock. A first glance at
the top of the boulder (Fig. 1a) gives the impression that it has two cup-like depressions surrounded by an incised trench, however
all of these features are natural.

b
Figure 1. a) Erosional features mimicking cup and ring markings on a boulder at Old Bewick;
b) Cross section through the boulder revealing burrows?

The broken surface of the boulder (Fig. 1b) provides us with a vertical section through sandstone revealing a network of passages
which would have originally been filled with soft poorly cemented sandstone. They look to me more like the interconnecting burrows
of annelid worms or shrimp-like crustaceans than the bifurcating roots called stigmaria which form the root-stocks of Carboniferous
age plants such as Sigillaria and Lepidodendron. The surface expression of the burrows when weathered goes by the generic term
honeycomb weathering.
The uppermost surfaces of several of the better known cup and ring boulders and outcrops in Northumbria, such as at Roughting
Linn, Lordenshaw and Old Bewick, have a mass of such depressions many of which have interconnecting cols eroded across the
ridges between them. The lowest cols then have spillways leading to distinct runnels many of which are artificially over-deepened
(see Part 1 in Rock Articles No. 13).
A small boulder, West Lordenshaw (Birkby Hill) 1b,
part of the Lordenshaw group, which was conveniently
full of water when I visited with the Andante group in
2014, exhibited this to perfection (Fig. 2). There are a
series of six conjoined natural hollows, four of which are
filled by water, with distinct cols separating two others
and an incised lip where the water drains into a near
vertical runnel. Several other depressions on the surface
of the boulder have been identified by Stan Beckensall as
artificial cups or basins (page 89 of Prehistoric Rock Art
in Northumberland, Tempus Books). At least one of
these was sculpted so as to become part of the
sequence of depressions which would gradually be
inundated as the basins became filled with water (or any
other liquid).

Figure 2. Water filled honeycomb weathering on

West Lordenshaw 1b.
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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Roughting Linn has the appearance of a glacially sculpted roche moutonne, with a smoothly planed convex upstream or stoss
surface and a much steeper downstream or lee surface. The stoss surface was ground smooth by the rock fragments in the
underside of the advancing ice sheet, while the lee side was plucked as frictional melt water penetrated cracks in the rock, froze,
expanded on freezing and enabled blocks to be prized off and incorporated into the ice. The different slopes encouraged a differing
response from the Neolithic /Bronze Age worshipper/artist.

Figure 3. a) honeycomb weathering at Roughting Linn with artificial grooves leading to cup and ring
carving on the stoss side; b) honeycomb weathering leading to natural runnel and over-deepened and
straightened channel on the lee side of Roughting Linn;

The starting point for both styles of motif is the summit network of erosional, honeycomb depressions (Fig. 5) which must have been
eroded since the ice sheet disappeared. On the stoss side, one of the major motifs involving a series of three over-deepened
channels can be seen leading away from three areas of interconnected depressions to a very distinctive cup with three rings. It
appears as if the intention was to have liquid fill up the sequence of natural depressions before it could overflow into the central cup
and subsequently the surrounding rings. The left hand channel is the most deeply incised and leads from an array of three large
depressions. The right hand channel may have two, but the median channel has only one small feeder depression. To sort out the
sequence and begin to speculate about the importance of the drainage network will need practical archaeology involving several
gallons of water!
The lee side, a glacially plucked escarpment edge, has a number of obviously artificially enhanced steep runnels leading from the
area of honeycomb depressions. In Fig. 6 the left hand (to the viewer) runnel is deflected into a zig-zag path as it cuts across
bedding planes and looks to be an enhanced natural flow path. The runnel on the right is a perfectly straight channel and cuts
across the bedding planes without any deviation. Further down the channel the gouge marks can be made out (Fig.7a) and use has
been made of the bedding planes to produce a series of cascades along the channel (Fig. 7b). These could easily have been
removed if a smooth flow was intended; the cascade appears to be intentional. The interaction of geological and artificial features
indicate that the intention of the carver was to utilise water, which must have been brought to the rock deliberately, in order to fill
the natural depressions until they overflowed down the runnels, producing a cascade effect on the Lee side and interacting with the
cup and ring motifs on the stoss side.

b
Figure 7. a) Gouge marks along the straightened channel;
b) Cascade effect produced as the channel crosses bedding planes.

In Part Three I will look at other examples of rock art involving honeycomb weathering and other geological features.

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

INSPIRED BY ROCK ART: Modern motifs capturing local history

Visitors to Low Burnhall, a Woodland Trust site just south of Durham, may have spotted an unusual corpus of rock art, including
several multi-ringed motifs, a fish, and a lizard! This is not an area noted for petroglyphs: a single cup mark (now lost) was found
during excavations of an Iron Age settlement at West Brandon 6 km away. Three other panels are recorded at Witton Gilbert, about
the same distance to the north. So what is this small group of carvings doing here?

Now a tranquil haven of meadows,

wetland, and ancient forest rising from
the banks of the majestic River Wear, this
small area on the southern margins of the
city was once a busy industrial landscape.
Pit wagons were hauled up the hill by a
rope mechanism powered by an engine
house; you can still see the original
Wagon Way. The area was also known for
its sulphur wells and salt springs. Lead
miners would visit and drink the water
believing it had health benefits. After the
creation of Croxdale Pit, the springs sadly
stopped flowing.
In 2008, sculptor Jason Turpin-Thomson
was commissioned by the Woodland Trust
to carve on three sets of arranged stones
(megalithic?) sites: a stone circle, stone
spiral, and stepping stones. In addition
to the rock art inspired motifs, his
carvings include railway tracks, a scythe,
and a large fish. So how does one
approach the process of creating rock art
in the modern world? Could Jason shed
any light on the processes that may have
been involved in the conception or
production of prehistoric rock art? Do his
carvings have any relationship with the
landscape and its stories, as has been
suggested for cup and ring marks? Rock
Articles decided to ask a few pertinent
questions, and Jason was kind enough to
respond.

First we wondered about the practical

side of things:
The Trusts contractors picked and
sited the stones. The stones are locally
quarried sandstone. The surfaces and
carve-able facets all had to be decided
on as I arrived at each mini site - taking
care that the surface was not flaky and
was visible.
I sketched out rough ideas based on
the limited history of the site and with a
sense of where the stone rings would
be. On site I wax crayoned on a basic
line and flowed out from that. My
budget was very modest and I could
only spend a little time on each mini
site but I was to be seen carving with
stone chisels and an iron dummy
(mallet).
I would drive up from Sheffield each
day of carving, put on numerous
insulating layers of work clothes,
wellies and hat to survive the intensely
inclement weather. So, looking like a
homeless person I hand chiselled for
five or six hours each day chatting to
the occasional dog walker.

- 13 -

So what was Jasons inspiration for the

designs? The ring motifs are clearly based
on prehistoric rock art, with some
examples truncated just like those found
on quarried rock art panels but there
are no cups, either at the centre of the
rings or elsewhere. Was this deliberate?

The ripples (rings) hint at ancient

stone carvings and the flow of water.
The bottle piece (see fig) refers to an
ancient medicinal water spring that
was disrupted by mining activities on
the site. I left off any cup marks to
reflect the lack of revitalising waters as
were once enjoyed by locals.
The scythe and railway tracks were a
play on the idea of cutting through the
landscape. The watery creatures were
to reflect the more amphibious part of
the overall site but I found they were
further away from the water than
expected when I got to the site. The fish
carving was particularly hard to cut.
With the stepping stones, I think I was
after a sense of flow so that children
could skip along the line of stones.

Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Some archaeologists have focussed on

the performance aspect of producing
rock art. Did Jason have any thoughts on
his own experiences?
Carving can be a bit of a performance
and I do a lot of live carving sessions on
site, in schools, museums and other
events. When Im carving I become
entirely engrossed and removed from
your world - carried away When Im
in this state it can take a few moments
to snap out of it when interrupted its
a kind of self-hypnosis. Time also plays
out at a different pace -hours can melt
into minutes. When Ive not carved for
a while my physical self has a strong
urge or an itch to do so
I loved the bleakness of the place and
the isolated work situation and the idea
that the pieces were mysteriously
appearing bit by bit

So it seems that, for this 21st century rock art, the landscape and its rich history were
fundamental to the selection of images, which entwine elements of both, and connect
local, historical themes with more ancient ideas and wider, regional traditions of cups
and rings. Yet to an observer without knowledge of either rock art or local history the
images may simply appear as decorative musings and meanders much as prehistoric
cups and rings now seem to us.
Jasons comments on the process of carving are also revealing. The trance-like state he
experienced may indeed have been an important part of the creation of cup and ring
designs, with designs flowing almost subconsciously from an initial, planned starting
point. The time-altering effect of intense actively he describes is something with which
many of us are familiar, be it the lightning speed of a 3 hour exam or a quick session
of MinecraftHow might prehistoric people have responded to these varying
perceptions?
Find out more about Jason on his website:
http://jasonthomsonart.co.uk/www.jason.thomson.sculptor/Welcome.html
And his blog: https://turpinthomson.wordpress.com/
More about Low Burnhall Woods (including directions and a pdf download) can be
found at www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood-information/low-burnhall/
Image credits: Kate Sharpe & Joan Robson.

If you would like to submit an article to Rock Articles please contact me at kesharpe@outlook.com.
Feature articles. Contributions are invited on all aspects of Rock Art in Britain and Ireland, including recording techniques, interpretation,
management, presentation, education, and conservation. We are keen to hear about any community projects, heritage initiatives, new
techniques, and new research. Perhaps you have been to a conference and could write a report, or have participated in a workshop or
training event? Articles should be 750-1000 words, and should include at least two images (for which you should have permission).
New Discoveries. If you have identified any new rock art and would like to feature your find in the New Discoveries section of Rock
Articles, get in touch, with a photograph of your find. Please note that grid references will not be included. Finds should be reported to and
verified by the relevant local authority HER officer.
British Rock Art News. Do you have some news about your project, or an update on a particular panel? Why not share it RA readers in no
more than 200 words?
Inspired by Rock Art? Rock art often inspires creative responses. Have cup and ring marks fired your imagination? If so wed love to see
your work!
Events and opportunities. Are you running an event that might be of interest to RA readers? Let us know about any talks, conferences, or
guided walks. Maybe you are looking for participants for a community project? Advertise here and use the RA network to spread the word.

Submission deadline for Rock Articles No. 15: 18th March 2016

- 14 -

Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

LOOKING UNDER LONG MEGs DAUGHTERS By Emma Watson

A diggers perspective of the Long Meg excavation, 21st-29th March 2015.
Roughly 5,000 years ago Neolithic people, reusing an already sacred landscape, stood in awe of these stones on this mystical hilltop.
An environment this unique requires respect but also an investigation into its original construction and purpose. Paul Frodsham
applied to English Heritage for this special privilege and his wish was granted.
Arriving at Long Meg, having filled
as few cars as possible for the
journey from Hunsonby Village
Hall, we, the volunteers from the
North Pennines AONB Partnership's
Altogether Archaeology, run by
archaeologist Paul Frodsham,
rounded the corner on the farm
track and caught our first glance of
the
stones.
Breathtaking,
mysterious beauties, emerging up
out of a ground mist. It doesnt
matter how many times you visit
Long Meg, each experience is
different, the weather and timing
creating
their
own,
unique
ambience (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Long Meg stone circle

emerging out of the mist, on
arrival.
The frisson of excitement and anticipation felt on arrival within the group was palpable, combined with a certain apprehension about
what might be uncovered, and with that an overwhelming eagerness to get started. Yet, we would have to wait
Paul Frodsham took charge and showed us around the site, offering perspectives on the raison dtre for the dig: ie with the infrared photograph showing an enclosure butting up to the circle. it was imperative to try to find the relationship between the enclosure
and the stones, as well as to hopefully uncover some dating evidence for both, especially as Long Meg has never previously been
excavated.
Three trenches were laid out and after four hours of hard-slog de-turfing the two trenches bridging the area between the stone
circle and the enclosure, our collective initial excitement turned to despondency that we might not even complete the de-turfing by
the end of the first day. However, at the point of near-exhaustion, sweets were handed out, teeth were gritted and a hitherto
unseen determination set in. De-turfing completed, this little band of diggers had laughed, almost cried, and gelled as a unit (Figure
2). Paul was clearly thrilled to be there, his enthusiasm almost tangible, as the soil revealed itself beneath the tufts of turf (Figure 3).

Figure 3 End of Day 1, Paul Frodsham clearly

delighted with the days progress.

Figure 2 - The conclusion of Day 1.

Trench 1 finally de-turfed!

Days 2 & 3 were lost under a mass of excavated soil. Mattock, mattock, shovel, shovel were the only visuals, as almost a foot of
topsoil was removed from Trench 1. Finally, features began to emerge the orangey-reddy-brown subsoil underlying the dull browngrey ploughsoil shone like a beacon and drew us, scraping and mattocking, towards it. Down and down we shovelled and then
- 15 -

Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

trowelled, until, under the 50 shades of grey, stone groupings uncovered themselves within a reddy-brown layer of hope and
promise (Figure 4). It re-awakened our senses and soon, cries of Ooh! and Aahhr! echoed across the trench, as pebbles and
stones of varying greens, whites, reds and blacks were clearly present, contrasted against the reddy-brown backdrop of soil.
On days 4 and 5, anomalies within the soil, where the grey soil overlaid a possible pit or hollow below, were investigated (Figure 5).
The search for lost stone holes, pits and post-holes began at the stone circle end of Trench 1, whilst the enclosure was starting to
emerge towards the middle of the trench, running away from the upright stone.

Figure 4 The emerging reddy-brown subsoil beneath

the grey ploughsoil.

Figure 5 Trench 1. An anomaly is investigated near to

one of the upright Long Meg stones.

Figure 6 Countryfile filming Paul and Helen as they

discuss Long Meg herself and the significance of the
stone circle.

Figure 7 Uncovering a deep stone hole of a hitherto

unknown entrance stone.

Thursday 26th was dominated by the arrival of the BBC Countryfile team and Helen Skelton as presenter (Figure 6). They spent the
day filming Helen knapping flint, trowelling in Trench 1 and chatting with Paul, all with us diggers needed to set their scene. I can
state that my very own hand, trowel and shovel are now of world-renown, as the close-up of them lasted almost a second on
Countryfile, when it aired on 12th April. I am thinking of getting my hand insured!
The last days of Friday to Sunday were a frenzy of activity (Figures 7 & 8). The previous sensory interest continued to dominate
peoples minds and thoughts, as the redness of the soil contrasted so starkly with all finds, whether they were natural pebbles or
layers of charcoal (Figure 9). Despite the worsening weather, the trench across the ditch was completed (Figure 10); post- and
stone-holes were unearthed (Figures 12 & 13), the trench recorded (Figure 14) and all three trenches backfilled and re-turfed.
All in all it had been an exhausting but really rewarding experience which, in the end had begun to answer the questions posed in
the Project Design while providing Paul with enough new queries for ten more excavations at least! A good result!
We can only imagine what Neolithic people might think of our 2015 excavations. They might marvel at our continued interest in this
special monument, created without todays machinery or techniques. Yet, in order to revere our own ancestral past, this aweinspiring monument demands further investigations into what lies beneath. Will you be there at the next dig?

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Figure 8 The enclosure ditch starts to emerge from the

grey. A sherd of probable Neolithic pottery was later
recovered from the right of this image towards the centre
of the trench.

Figure 9 A large amount of burnt material was removed

from this pit towards the bottom of the enclosure ditch,
close to its terminal end, next to the presumed
entranceway from the enclosure through into the circle.

Figure 10 - The enclosure ditch its original depth and

width.

Figure 11 - Two huge unearthed post-holes.

Figure 12 - A massive stone-hole for a missing entrance

stone.

Figure 13 ASDUs archaeologists Johnny Dye and Matt

Claydon recording and photographing the final state of
Trench 1, before backfilling, despite the poor weather.

The excavation was carried out by Altogether Archaeology volunteers: www.northpennines.org.uk/Pages/Altogetherarchaeology.aspx The
Altogether Archaeology Project is managed by North Pennines AONB Partnership and funded by the Heritage Lottery. The project
was undertaken with help from Archaeological Services and the Dept. of Archaeology at Durham University, Oxford North
Archaeology, and Durham University Archaeology Department.
Note: At the time of writing post-excavation work is still underway on finds and samples from the excavation. A
comprehensive report will be produced and widely circulated as soon as possible.

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

BRAG in BRISTOL 2015

Ringing rocks, goat cults, and foot fixations were all in a days work for the attendees of this years British Rock Art
Group annual conference. Peter Style reviews proceedings.

BRAG got underway on a fine May

morning this year at Bristol University,
hosted by the ever enthusiastic Dr
George Nash. The given theme was
Rock art as a ritual communication
device - a challenging topic given the
problems in interpreting petroglyphs.
However the papers were intriguing some more speculative than others, but
all with a frisson to stimulate the mind;
shamanic themes popped up, nascent
broad reaching studies were reported
on, and cutting edge research using the
latest
imaging
technology
was
demonstrated. After a brief welcome
and introduction by George, which
included the popular suggestion of
producing Proceedings for BRAG and/or
a British Archaeological Report, to
include the papers presented on an
annual or possibly biannual basis, things
got started.
George carried us to the Middle East
where Something completely different:
The politics of the Bedouin marks in the
Negev, Southern Israel took us to a
politically challenging region in which to
work, where the modern Bedouin have,
in some cases, superimposed their
abstract symbols over the prehistoric
petroglyphs. The stratigraphy is evident
through the differential development of
iron oxides over the carvings with the
older carvings stained more than those
which are more recent. George posited
that the key to understanding why this
occurred was to try to enter the mindset of the Bedouin in their appropriation
of these sites, suggesting that it was, in
part, a consequence of the culture being
under pressure from water stress with
its roots in political friction. This was
compared with the visually striking
modern urban cult of graffiti tagging
with its own superimposition and
associated statements of territory;
defining place yet meaning different
things to different people. It was
suggested that the superimposition
present in the Bedouin marks indicates
they could be interpreted as a statement
of ownership of the territory.

Next Ruman Banerjee took us even

further east talking about Ritualistic
Archaeo-astronomy and the Rock Art of
India based on his doctoral researches.
His hypothesis was that many rock art
sites not only have solar and lunar
alignments but that some are also
representative of stellar constellations.
Whilst the former theory has a wide
acknowledgement, the latter proved a
problematic concept to some in the
audience. A rapid picture tour was
included of some of the figurative Indian
rock art and megalithic monuments of
south and eastern India which have
demonstrable solar or lunar alignments.
The landscape settings of the rock art
were also considered; the siting of some
hunting depictions concealed from direct
sunlight might represent a more ritual
use of these sites it was suggested.

Following the break Paul Devereux

took us into auditory realm of archaeoacoustics with his Winning the Cup:
The problematic relationship between
cup markings and lithophonic rocks.
He starting with the Balaphetrish Gong
Stone, a granite erratic perched on the
foreshore on the Hebridean island of
Tiree, and covered with well-used cup
marks of unknown age. We listened to
the curious metallic ringing of the rock
when pounded with a pebble. Ringing or
lithophonic rocks are found the world
over and are sometimes regarded as
sacred. Clearly, when a cup-mark is
made, a sound is produced which may
or may not ring depending on the
situation of the boulder (bedrock is less
likely to have quite such a resonant
- 18 -

quality to it). Paul is part of a

collaborative project with the Royal
College of Art whose Landscape and
Perception project (www1) has been
looking at the rocks on Carn Menin,
Preseli Mountains - source of the
Stonehenge Bluestones, where Darvill
and Wainright have identified a possible
cup-marked rock on the wonderful
columnar dolerite blocks there, surely
natural lithophones (I was minded of
the impressive hornstone lithophone in
Keswick Museum). The presentation
then explored experiential aspects of
lithophonic sounds and some of the
extant mythologies associated with
some of the sites.

sound rebounding
round the valley,
returning as an echo.
The theme of experiential aspects of
creating and using cup-marked outcrops
continued with Visceral places and
Volcanic Voids: A consideration of Lake
District rock art as ceremonial sites
presented by Peter Style. This paper
highlighted the commonalities of the
landscape settings and organic forms of
the almost wholly cup-marked, glaciated
slabs found in this region. Amongst
other aspects of these sites the element
of shamanic performance in making
and using these sites was raised, which
would, of course, include the knocking
on rock with the sound rebounding
round the valley, returning as an echo.
This is surely something that would
have had a dramatic impact and may
perhaps have been interpreted in a
mystical manner. Recent research on
prehistoric monumental and cave sites
was discussed, apropos the social
activity around the cup-marked sites,
one of a number of factors which, it has
been proposed, make these places in
the landscape memorable to the people
of the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.

Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Following a well-earned lunch break

Joana Valdez Tullet took us to the
western fringes of Europe with her
Atlantic Rock Art: A prehistoric tale?
This was a glimpse of the early results
from her far reaching doctoral research,
with study areas from Portugal, through
Galicia, across the seas to the Iveragh
Peninsula, County Kerry, Dumfries and
Galloway, and finishing on Yorkshires
Rombalds Moor. Joana is using a multiscalar analysis and a rigorous
methodology including photogrammetry,
reflective transformative imagery and
GIS view-shed analysis, which should
allow the sites and regions to be
compared and contrasted objectively
and be a significant tool to advance our
interpretation of this corpus of evidence.
The field survey region highlighted was
the Machars on the Isle of Whithorn
(not actually an island!) in Dumfries and
Galloway. Here, Joana noted how the
view-shed analysis contrasted with the
results on the ground. The marked
outcrops were found to be less visible
than expected from the digital analysis,
demonstrating the importance of seeing
these sites on the ground and getting a
feel for the landscape.

a significant tool to
advance our
interpretation
From the Atlantic we moved to the
Mediterranean in Italy. Davio Sigari
and Eleanora Montanari presented a
paper On the footsteps of initiation to
manhood: study of Rock 119, Vite,
Paspardo (Valcamonica, Italy). On the
sandstones and schists of the Paspardo
region, amongst anthropo-morphic Iron
Age figures, is found a most mysterious,
yet no doubt symbolic, motif: the
footprint. Eleanor and Davio suggested
that here, as elsewhere (it is also found
intermittently across Europe), footprints
may be associated with initiation rites.
The tactile nature and organic wave-like
surfaces of the decorated glaciated slabs
were again noted and it was suggested
that these sites had connections with a
healing goddess representing a liminal
zone between the outer world of the
living and the underworld of the
ancestors. This foot fixation extends to
the grave goods found in the Golasecca
culture in Lombardy where foot
pendants are found along with food
vessels. This is ongoing research and
during the question time Andy Jones
suggested that these rock art panels
might be surrogate sites for votive
deposition which more usually would
have been into water.

Staying in Italy, Cezary Namirskis

paper discussed Sardinian statuemenhirs
revisited:
a
central
Mediterranean perspective. These
intriguing monuments, typically dating
from the Later Neolithic though to the
Early Bronze Age, are found from
Northern Italy to Switzerland and
France. They are standing stones
usually decorated with anthropomorphic
faces, weapons, and figures. Cezary ran
through some statistics on the motifs
and their distribution. Statue-menhirs in
Sardinia are associated Chalcolithic
fortified settlements, suggestive of
conflict, which may explain their dagger
motifs. Unfortunately they are usually
found out of context, as they have been
moved or reused, making interpretation
of their setting problematic. Several
stelae have been found which have cupmarks on them which, it was posited,
suggested a transitional period between
the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic
periods.
Tina Walking took us back up into
mountains for a return visit to Armenia
with Goat letters and magic persons:
Rock art as a ritual and social
communication device in prehistoric
southern Armenia. She discussed the
predominant goat symbolism in the
petroglyphs found here in the fabulous
setting of the Ughtasar Mountains
(www2). Perhaps unsurprisingly in such a
dramatic liminal landscape, between
earth and sky, there was a strong
shamanic theme, with the suggestion
that the widespread goat symbolism
found here was part of a ritual act, the
petroglyphs being the visible residue of
those performances, and what might,
perhaps, be called a goat cult. Again,
the experiential aspect of rock art sites
was raised, including the acoustics of art
high up in the mountains: an open air
sanctuary. Tina suggested that some of
the human figures depicted may
represent
people
dancing
in
transformative shamanic rituals with
some figures having birdlike appendages
or massive solar heads which may have
been associated with hunting rituals.

bird-like appendages or
massive solar heads...
We then returned to Neolithic Britain
with Andy Jones and Marta DiazGuardamino who presented the early
results of their research project in
Making the mark: rock art and the
decorated artefacts of Neolithic Britain
and Ireland. This project (www3) is
using RTI to scan about 1000 Later
Neolithic decorated artefacts made from
a range of materials including chalk,

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stone and antler. The dramatic details

revealed were demonstrated by Marta:
on the Folkton Drums evidence could be
seen of reworking and erasure of the
carvings during the decoration of these
unique objects - in other words the
stratigraphy of manufacture was made
visible. Other objects scanned included
the spiral on the Garboldisham antler
macehead, incised plaques from Grimes
Graves and some curious incised marks
identified on the side wall of a ditch of
the Flagstones House causewayed
enclosure. Andy emphasised the
importance of process versus iconic
analysis in understanding Neolithic art
a possible return to processualism?

The days discourses were concluded in

South Africa with Aron Mazel whose
Paintings in a time of great change: the
uKhahlamba-Drakensberg around 200
years ago subtitled, the quest for
control, looked at the polychrome
images in the area which appeared
around 200 years ago. Aron proposed
that the shading of these images related
to stress among the local huntergatherers in the context of social
change, with the resultant increase in
shamanic ritual amongst these people to
give them more power. The pigments,
he suggested, were imbued with
supernatural powers. Some were
prepared at full-moon by women, giving
the red and white colours used a
particularly significance. The shading
process gave the images a 3D effect, so
that the eland and other animals were
brought to life, appearing to move in
flickering firelight.
After the long days debate we headed
for the pub and some welcome
reflection. It was a thought-provoking
day with shamans aloft on ringing
stones resounding through our heads to
the rhythm of knocking on rock echoing
off the hills and crags, and frenzied
dancing to bring success in the hunt. No
wonder we received some strange looks
from the other punters!

Peter Style
http://mountainsofmeaning.com/

Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Project websites:
Landscape and Perception ( www1): www.rca.ac.uk/research-innovation/research/current-research/landscape-and-perception-website/
Ughtasar Rock Art Project (www2): www.ughtasarrockartproject.org
Scanning the Folkton Drums (www3): https://generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk/archaeology/2014/04/23/scanning-folkton-drums/

Thank you Bristol!

Next years BRAG will be held in Liverpool. Watch out for more details in the April issue.

ROCK ART READS: New and Forthcoming Publications

Prehistoric Rock Art in Scandinavia. Courtney Nimura.
From Oxbow: This comprehensive review is based on the creation of a Scandinavia-wide GIS
database for prehistoric rock art and re-examines theoretical approaches and interpretations, in
particular with regard to the significance of the ship and its relationship to a maritime landscape.

ISBN: 9781785701191; 160 pages; Oxbow Books; Not yet published - advance orders taken
Price GB 19.

www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/prehistoric-rock-art-in-scandinavia.html

Rock Art and Regional Identity. A Comparative Perspective. Jamie Hampson.

From Left Coast Press: Why did the ancient artists create paintings and engravings? What did the
images mean? This careful study of rock art motifs in the Trans-Pecos area of Texas and a small
area in South Africa demonstrates that there are archaeological and anthropological ways of
accessing the past in order to investigate and explain the significance of rock art motifs. Using two
disparate regions shows the possibility of comparative rock art studies and highlights the
importance of regional studies and regional variations. This is an ideal resource for students and
researchers.
ISBN 978-1-61132-371-9 (Hardback);248 pages; Left Coast Press Inc. Not yet published advance orders taken Price (hardback) GB 60.95. Also available as an eBook for US $ 34.95.
www.lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=523;
www.eurospanbookstore.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=9781611323719
The Rock Art of Spain and Portugal. Emmanuel Anati.
From Atelier: An analytical synthesis of the rock art in the Iberian peninsula from the conceptual
anthropology approach. The major concentrations of rock art are considered as expressions of their
different cultural and social patterns.

Atelier Editions. Price Euro 20,00. Also available on Kindle GB 5.46.

Hard copy: www.atelier-etno.it/bookshop/
Kindle edition: www.amazon.co.uk/The-Rock-Art-Spain-Portugal-ebook/dp/B00OJBX896

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Rock Art Abstracts: Headlines from recent journal papers. What are academic researchers currently
thinking about? (Full papers available online only with subscription)

An alternative chronology for

Chauvet

Multi-layered meanings in
China

Rock art versus industry in

Western Australia

Twenty years since the discovery of

the Grotte Chauvet controversy
continues over the age of the images.
This paper questions the validity of
the radiometric dating and cautions
against reliance solely on the date of
the charcoal. Instead, the authors
propose an alternative chronology for
the art of Chauvet based on stylistic
comparanda,
palaeontological
remains and stratigraphic evidence.

This paper examines the Zuo River

Valley rock art of Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region, China. The
content, location and visibility of
images along this arterial waterway
reveal how rock art played a
significant role in life and death in
Late Bronze Age and Iron Age
Guangxi,
having
multi-layered
meanings that spoke to different
groups in different ways.
Dematt, P. (2015). Travel and
landscape: the Zuo River Valley rock
art of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
Region, China. Antiquity 89 (345):
613-628.

The Dampier Archipelago, situated on

the north-western coast of Australia,
arguably contains the worlds
greatest concentration of engraved
rock art. It is also one of Australias
largest bulk handling ports. In 2007,
recognising the rock art and other
cultural values of the Dampier
Archipelago,
including
Burrup
Peninsula, the archipelago was
placed on the Australian National
Heritage List. Is this enough
protection? Many think not.

RTI action in Iberia

All hands on deck in Wyoming

The authors argue that RTI is

particularly
useful
for
the
interpretation of engraved rock art.
Here it is applied to examine surface
marks, their production and eventual
superimposition. New motifs, varying
techniques and later modifications
are revealed in two LBA stelae.

Hand sprays offer an opportunity to

determine the age and sex of rock art
creators. The archaeological sprays
were measured using 3-D models
created
with
close
range
photogrammetry. The results suggest
that hand sprays were created by
children and adults of both sexes
suggesting
non-exclusivity
in
activities associated with rock art
creation.

Cutting out contaminants in

AMS dating

Pettit, P., & Bahn, P. (2015). An

alternative chronology for the art of
Chauvet cave. Antiquity 89 (345):
542-553.

Daz-Guardamino, M., Sanjun, L. G.,

Wheatley, D., & Zamora, V. R.
(2015). RTI and the study of
engraved rock art: a re-examination
of the Iberian Late Bronze Age stelae
of Setefilla and Almadn de la Plata
2. Digital Applications in Archaeology

and Cultural Heritage.

Mackie, M. E. (2015). Estimating age

and
sex:
Paleodemographic
identification using rock art hand
sprays, an application in Johnson
County, Wyoming. Journal of
Archaeological Science: Reports 3:
333-341.

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Mulvaney,
K.
(2015).
Burrup
Peninsula: Cultural Landscape and
Industrial Hub, a 21st Century
Conundrum. Landscape Research
40(6): 759-772.

This paper reviews the literature on

AMS radiocarbon dated residues
using microgram sized carbon
samples.
Samples
from
archaeological studies are targeted,
including residues from rock art;
improved sampling protocols are
proposed to prevent contamination.
Yates, A. B., Smith, A. M., & Bertuch,
F. (2015). Residue radiocarbon AMS
dating review and preliminary
sampling
protocol
suggestions.
Journal of Archaeological Science 61,
223-234.

Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

Further fieldwork and research at Cathole: The earliest painted surface in Britain?
George Nash

In September 2010 a small team from the University of

Bristol discovered a potential Late Upper Palaeolithic
engraving of a cervid in Cathole Cave on the Gower Peninsula
in South Wales (Figure 1). Following discovery, members of
the NERC-Open University Uranium Series Facility extracted
samples from the surface on which the engraving was made
in April 2011, together with a sample from a section of
flowstone covering part of the reindeers muzzle. A single
date of 12,572 + 600 years BP was obtained from the
overlying flowstone, suggesting a minimum age for the
engraving (Nash et al. 2010, 2012). A further flowstone
sample was taken from left of the muzzle of the cervid in July
2011 and results gave a similar minimum age of 14,505 +
879 years (Nash et al. 2011). This discovery prompted the
team to explore the cave further (Nash 2015).

Figure 2. The recent survey plan of the cave, produced though

3D laser scanning (after Nash & Beardsley 2012).

The survey identified five surfaces within the rear section of

the cave that contained un-datable marks that were arguably
of human agency, along with bear claw marks within the
western antechamber. Within the western section of the
main gallery is a smooth section of cave walling. This panel,
now safely secured behind the metal grille contains a
potential datable haematite spread. Prior to the installation of
the grille, this panel and much of the main galley had
subjected to periodic graffiti events. The panel, standing
approximately 1.2m above the current cave floor level and
0.70m above the cave floor that existed prior to excavations
led by Colonel E.R. Wood in 1864 measures c.1.25 x 1.10m
and comprises a plethora of modern graffiti (Figure 3). The
graffiti, comprising mainly textual and abstract
motifs/patterns has been applied using a variety of
techniques including spray can, alcohol-based permanent
marker pens, incisions and scratches, and lip-stick.

Figure 1. The engraved image of a cervid, discovered by the

author in 2010. Image: G. Nash.

As part of the remit to record this and other features within

the cave, the Welsh heritage agency CADW commissioned a
3D digital survey of the main galley and side chambers of the
cave. This survey allowed the team to produce an accurate
and definitive plan of the cave (Nash & Beardsley 2012). In
addition, a survey was undertaken in July 2012 where the
majority of the accessible surfaces of the cave were explored.
The survey concentrated on the rear section of the main
gallery including a small antechamber located immediately to
the west and to a sediment-filled narrow passage and
chamber to the north-east (Figure 2).

Figure 3. Panel E, showing the colour tones of haematite (after

Nash 2015).

un-datable marks that were

arguably of human agency

As part of a funded scientific project, a team from the

Quaternary Sciences Laboratory in Mao, Portugal in June
2015 embarked on a mapping and sampling programme.
Prior to this, the team employed a desk-based colour

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Issue No 14: Autumn 2015

haematite and flowstone were taken from Raman

Spectrometry and Uranium Series dating. The results of the
haematite samples will available in October/November 2015.
This laboratory analysis will determine if the haematite is a
natural secretion or it has been applied by human agency. If
the latter is applicable, the team from the NERC-Open
University Uranium Series Facility will take two samples of an
overlying flowstone for Uranium Series dating, thus providing
a minimum date for the haematite. If the haematite samples
reveal the presence of binders (forming a pigment recipe),
Cathole could possess the British Isles first painted surface.

spectrum programme referred to as D-Stretch (Figure 4).

Underlying the graffiti and within the central section of the
panel was a possible haematite spread (Figure 4, marked A).
It is not clear if this spread is natural or of human agency.
Covering part of this spread is a fragmented flowstone
column which extends from the ceiling to within 0.90m of the
cave floor (Figure 4, marked B).

Acknowledgement
The author would like to sincerely thank Cadw for their
generosity in part-funding this project.
References
Nash. G.H., 2015. Further possible discoveries of engravings
within Cathole Cave, Gower, Swansea. Proceedings of the
University of Bristol Spelaeological Society 26. 3:229-38.
Nash, G.H. and Beardlsey, A., 2013. The Survey of Cathole
Cave, Gower Peninsula, South Wales. Proceedings of the
University of Bristol Spelaeological Society. 26 (1):73-83.
Figure 4. Panel E, enhanced colour saturation using DStretch (after Nash 2015).

Nash, G.N., van Calsteren, P., Thomas, L. and Simms, M.J.,

2012. A discovery of possible Upper palaeolithic parietal art in
Cathole cave, Gower Peninsula, South Wales. Proceedings of
the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society 25. 3. 327-36.

The field programme, requiring Scheduled Monument

Consent (SMC) from the Welsh Heritage Agency Cadw
included a sample programme in which minute samples of

DATES for your DIARY: Forthcoming Conferences and Other Events

If you have an event you would like to publicise here please send me the details.

11th Jan 2016

The Bronze Age Neolithic? Problems of Continuity and Chronology. Lecture by Dr Alex
Gibson, University of Bradford.
A joint Society of Antiquities and Prehistoric Society event
6 pm -7 pm, Auditorium National Museum Scotland (use Lothian Street doors). Free entry.
See: www.socantscot.org/event/the-bronze-age-neolithic-problems-of-continuity-and-chronology-edinburgh/

Feb-April 2016
Border Archaeology Lecture Series.
Three lectures to look out for:
1st Feb: Pictish carvings with Joanna Hambley; 7th Mar: BA burials with Chris Fowler; and 4th Apr:
Saharan rock art with Tertia Barnett.
See: www.border-archaeological-society.co.uk/LECTURES.htm

3rd Jun 4th Jun 2016

The Prehistoric Society Europa Conference 2016: Dynamics of Art, design and Vision in Iron
Age Europe. University of Edinburgh and National Museums Scotland.
Celebrating the achievements of Prof Peter Wells, University of Minnesota.
See web for details:
www.prehistoricsociety.org/events/event/europa_2016_dynamics_of_art_design_and_vision_in_iron_age_europe/

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