Issue No 4: Autumn 2010

Issue No. 4: Autumn 2010

Rock Articles
Dear All,
There is a definte Autumn nip in the air, but for rock art hunters the shorter days also mean that the sun is nice and low to
catch those elusive cups and grooves! This issue of Rock Articles sees two new rock art projects underway, RAMP in
Northumberland, and CSI: Rombalds Moor in West Yorkshire – plenty of opportunities to get involved!
A new section is included this time: ‘Inspired by Rock Art’. Any creative folk out there who would like to share their work are
welcome to send contributions to me at the email address below.
Finally, I’m very sad to report the ill health of a great supporter of British rock art, Jan Brouwer. Along with Gus van Veen, Jan
created the British Rock Art Collection website and the British Rock Art Blog. Both sites provide an excellent focus for rock art
images and discussions, and fans will be pleased to hear that following treatment, Jan hopes to be back at his desk updating
the sites and pursuing his passion for rock art.
Kate
October 2010
kesharpe@live.co.uk

Contents:
• New British Discoveries: selected finds from around Britain ...................................................................... 1
• Quartz and Cobbles on Tayside: recent discoveries at Ben Lawers............................................................ 2
• Cup-Links: some quick links to useful sites to keep you in the picture .......................................................... 2
• World Rock Art on the Web: international news and links ......................................................................... 3
• Pores for Thought: high tech methods used to determine porosity of rock art surfaces in situ .................... 4
• Peculiar Portables: is it rock art? .............................................................................................................. 5
• RAMP update: the latest from the Rock Art Mobile Project .......................................................................... 6
• Get Involved: a new volunteering opportunity in West Yorkshire ................................................................. 7
• Featured Panels: new recordings of megalithic art ..................................................................................... 8
• Dates for your Diary: forthcoming conferences, day schools, and other events ........................................... 9
• Inspired by Rock Art: creative responses to cup and ring marks ................................................................ 9
• Rock Art Reads: new and forthcoming publications .................................................................................. 10

NEW BRITISH DISCOVERIES

A small selection of the many new discoveries made recently around Britain.
Isles of Scilly
Fieldwork associated with the English Heritage funded Lyoness Project has
identified previously unrecorded rock art on the island of Samson (uninhabited
since 1855). Team member Dan Charman spotted an unusual mark pecked on a
native granite boulder on the foreshore. The cigar-shaped image, approximately
30cm x 10cm is divided by a natural fissure. The carving lies close to a number of
archaeological sites of different periods, but just a few metres away are two pits
containing 136 sherds of pottery from two Neolithic Carn Brea type vessels.
Image credit: Charlie Johns.

Read more at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prehistoric/past/past064.pdf

Project blog: http://Lyonesseproject.wordpress.com

Ingleborough
Although this isn’t a recent discovery, it wasn’t published until 2008. It’s in an area
not generally associated with rock art, and hasn’t been widely publicised so is
perhaps worth highlighting here. In 1999 members of the Ingleborough
Archaeological Group, Arthur Batty and Noel Crack identified cup-marks on three
adjacent gritstones within a 3m2 area, close to the footpath leading to Little
Ingleborough, NW of Cote Gill. A fourth marked stone was found to the E of Cote
Gill, with several cup-marks, some with rings. A further stone with several parallel
grooves was also identified, possibly a polissoir? The full report of the discovery
with colour photographs is available at:
http://www.ingleborougharchaeologygroup.org.uk/Rock%20Art.pdf

(Image reproduced with kind permission of Arthur Batty)

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 Issue No 4: Autumn 2010

QUARTZ AND COBBLES ON TAYSIDE

Excavations at rock art sites on the Ben Lawers estate in the Southern Highlands of Scotland produced exciting results this
summer, reported by Richard Bradley, Aaron Watson and Alex Brown in the Prehistoric Society newsletter, PAST
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prehistoric/past/past065.pdf. They found that the more ornately carved rocks were associated with deposits of
broken and flaked quartz, which appeared to be focused around the decorated surfaces. This mirrors similar finds around rock
art panels at Torblharen in Argyll by Andy Jones and his team. At the foot of the largest decorated rock they uncovered a layer
of cobbling containing worked and broken quartz. This was located at the only point from which an observer could see the
images on top of the stone. The cobbles also sealed a relict land surface and analysis of pollen samples from above and below
the structure revealed that the rock carving was situated in open grassland which was probably used as upland pasture. The
site would have commanded the same extensive view along and across the loch as it does today.

Image credit: Aaron Watson

CUP-LINKS
Some quick links to blogs, databases, and image collections to put you in the picture with British rock art.

England’s Rock Art: website and database with information and images of England’s rock art, currently covering

Northumberland and County Durham, but soon to be extended.
http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/era

Beckensall Archive: website and database with information and images of Northumberland Rock Art based on the

archives of Stan Beckensall.
http://rockart.ncl.ac.uk/

Rock Art Mobile Project: one year project at Newcastle University aiming to deliver digital information to visitors at

rock art sites in North East England, making the experience more engaging and more informative. See page 6 of this
issue.
http://rockartmobile.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/RockArtMobile

CSI: Rombalds Moor: new volunteer-led recording project in West Yorkshire, with records to be added to the

England’s Rock Art (ERA) database. See page 7 of this issue
http://csirm.wordpress.com

British Rock Art Blog: forum for discussion about prehistoric rock art in the British Islands since 2006.

http://rockartuk.wordpress.com

British Rock Art Collection: extensive collection of images of British rock art.

http://rockartuk.fotopic.net/

British Rock Art on Flickr: images and discussion on rock art in the British landscape.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/rockartbritishlandscape/

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 Issue No 4: Autumn 2010

WORLD ROCK ART on the WEB

This issue brings you a round up of links to rock art conferences from summer 2010.
IFRAO Congress BLOG
If you were unable to get to the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations (IFRAO)
Pleistocene Art of the World Congress which was held in France at the beginning of
September, fear not. The National Geographic blog site, NatGeo Newswatch, covered the event
with daily reports from the sessions by Andrew Howley. The conference, which took place at
Tarascon-sur-Ariège, France, marked the 70th anniversary of the discovery of the cave
paintings in Lascaux, and drew together experts from around the world.
Mysteries of Prehistoric Rock Art Probed
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/09/mysteries-of-prehistoric-rock.html
Finding Pictures and Meaning in Rock Art
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/09/new-way-of-looking-at-art-and.html
Walking Into the Stone Age
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/09/walking-into-the-stone-age.html
Cracking the Code in the Rocks
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/09/cracking-the-code-in-the-rocks.html
Rock Spirits at the Portals to Afterlife
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/09/rock-spirits-at-the-portals-to.html

Vandals damage 1,000 year old Keyhole Sink petroglyphs in Arizona

A public call has been made for information relating to the vandalism of the
main rock art panel at Keyhole Sink (named for the keyhole-shaped lava
flow) on the Kaibab National Forest in Coconino County, northern
Arizona. The attacks, which occurred in August this year, were
reported by hikers. The word "ACE" has been written in what
appears to be white paint over the petroglyphs.
"This senseless act not only damaged the fragile rock art, it
degraded a special place enjoyed by several thousand visitors each
year," said Kaibab National Forest archaeologist Neil Weintraub. Erin
Woodward, also from the National Forest commented: "Non-
renewable, historic resources, such as petroglyphs and pictographs,
can be easily damaged. So, it is important that each visitor to
national forests be respectful of the cultural resources in the area
and leave them as found for future generations to enjoy." Image credit: Kaibab National Forest
In the US, the petroglyphs are protected under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979. If the
damage is more than $500, the penalty for a first offense is up to two years in prison and $20,000 in fines. A
second offense carries penalties of up to five years in prison and $100,000 in fines. The Forest Service has
documented the damage and is assessing its monetary value.
The group that made the petroglyphs are known as the Cohonina, likely ancestors of the Hopi, Hualapai and
Havasupai tribes that inhabited the Parks area. The bear paws, snakes and lizards in the rock art panel are
similar to Hopi clan symbols. The panel also depicts an ancient hunting scene.
For more, see The Megalithic Portal: http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=27038
Or read local the news story at http://www.williamsnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=10570

New rock art sites added to the World Heritage List

At the 34th session of The World Heritage Committee meeting in Brazil earlier this year, 21
new sites were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. These included the prehistoric
caves Yagul and Mitla in the centre of the valley of Oaxaca (Southern Mexico). Some of
these shelters have yielded archaeological remains and rock art that are a testimony of the
first farmers settled. Other rock art sites to be listed by the World Heritage Organization
are Gobustan, Azerbaijan (added in 2007), Tamgaly, Kazakhstan (2004), the Iberian
Peninsula, Spain (1998), and Alta, Norway (1995).
For more information on all these sites visit the World Heritage Centre (WHC) at
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1352/

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 Issue No 4: Autumn 2010

PORES for THOUGHT: High Tech Methods used to Assess Porosity of Rock Art Surfaces in situ
In a ground-breaking new study, researchers at Nottingham Trent University are developing non-invasive methods of
measuring the porosity of rocks, and they are applying the technology to rock art in situ. A combination of three techniques,
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Portable Remote Imaging System for
Multispectral Scanning (PRISMS) will be used by researchers Dr Haida Liang, Dr Martin Bencsik, and Elizabeth Bemand to assess
the subsurface of the rock.
Porosity is one of the things that govern the physical strength of the rock surface, and affects the susceptibility of rock art to
decay. Previous methods have been dependent on using samples and so are not appropriate for repeated monitoring of rock art
panels. In the new study, samples will be collected non-destructively from cairns at the sites of rock art panels. These samples
will be artificially weathered and porosity monitored using the three non-invasive techniques. The results will be compared to
naturally weathered samples, and to rock art panels in situ to help develop an understanding of the progression of porosity
changes due to weathering. This information will then be used to assess the vulnerability and estimate the longevity of rock art
panels, and so inform conservation plans.
Many thanks to Elizabeth Bemand for info and images.

Fig 1: OCT cross-section of sandstone sample with freshly cut top surface.

Fig 2: Pores identified from OCT cross-section in Fig 1.

Fig 3: OCT cross-section of sandstone sample with naturally weathered top surface.

Fig 4: Pores identified from OCT cross-section in Fig 3.

Figure 5: OCT Probe (left), and PRISMS (right)

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 Issue No 4: Autumn 2010

PECULIAR PORTABLES
Very now and then, strange carved stones appear which defy categorisation within the traditional corpus of cup and ring
marked stones. Here is a selection from the last couple of years.

SMALLEST ROCK ART MOTIF?

In July the Telegraph reported a very tiny (Britain’s smallest?) example of
rock art which had been found on a small slab at the bottom of a quarry in
Cambridgeshire. The tiny concentric cup-and-ring motifs measure just a few
cm across! Rock art is relatively scarce in the south of England but the
possibility that the pattern has a natural origin (e.g. a fossil) has apparently
been ruled out. Christopher Evans from Cambridge University’s
Archaeological Unit suggests that it is ‘a doodle’ made by bored Neolithic
people with time on their hands…What do you think?
Read more in the Telegraph online at
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7894635/Worlds-oldest-
doodle-found-on-rock.html
Image credit: Chris Evans.

MESOLITHIC MARKER?
A programme of excavation work in the Vale of Pickering in North Yorkshire has revealed some interesting finds. Fieldwork at
the Mesolithic site at Flixton School House Farm on the shore of a palaeo-lake (Starr Carr lies 3km away on the opposite shore)
is ongoing, but discoveries from the 2009 season included an unusual fragment of worn red mineral (ca. 5.5 cm x 4.5 cm) that
had been incised with short overlapping lines, possibly to extract material for use as a pigment. You can see a picture of the
stone and read more about the excavations and discoveries at Flixton, in an article by Barry Taylor (who is studying the site as
apart of his PhD research at the University of Manchester) in The Prehistoric Society newsletter, PAST 63, at
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prehistoric/past/past063.pdf

THE WEIRDSTONE OF WICKLOW: Is it rock art?

A peculiar carved stone was discovered at the Valleymount/Baltyboys
excavation in March 2010 by Chris Corlett and Martin Reid, reported by Martin
in the Summer 2010 issue of Archaeology Ireland. They found the stone close
to the foundations of an early Neolithic house. The dark stone, measuring 5cm
x 5cm x 1.5cm had been water-rolled at the edge of a reservoir. It has a
rounded side, and a flattened side with a central cup-mark, 1.2cm in dia. and
0.5cm deep. A slightly flattened, D-shaped ring surrounds the cup. This in turn
is surrounded by a narrow line which is broken in two places: the first break
may be natural, but the second appears central to the flat side of the ‘D’ and
two small indentations of ca. 2mm dia. (micro-cups?) are present in the gap.
The possibility that the markings may be a fossil have been discounted, as has
the suggestion that the stone functioned as a socket stone (no wear), an oil
lamp, part of a mould, an anvil, or a point of rotation for a fire-stick or bow.
Read more and see the picture in: Reid. Martin, 2010. A Curious Stone.
Archaeology Ireland, Summer 2010.
Image credit: Martin Reid.

ORKNEY ODDITY
In 2008 a stone slab with unusual pecked motifs was found at Green, a Neolithic site on the south coast of the Isle of Eday.
The stone was found near the entrance of a stone building which was part of a more extensive settlement. The sandstone slab,
57cm x 32cm, appears to be a broken fragment of a larger panel. It is decorated with a number of unusual designs including a
triangle, a circle, and ‘horned’ or ‘spectacled’ spiral, and other meandering grooves. Beneath the pecked motifs (and probably
pre-dating them) are incised lines which appear to be focused on the pecked triangle. They include parallel lines, triangles, and
traces of a lattice, and do not appear to be a pattern for the pecked designs.
Read more about the stone at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prehistoric/past/past065.pdf

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 Issue No 4: Autumn 2010

RAMP Update
The Newcastle University Rock Art Mobile Project (RAMP), funded by the Arts and Humanities Research
Council, aims to deliver digital information to visitors at rock art sites in North East England, making the
experience more engaging and more informative, without the need for extensive information panels or
wasteful paper leaflets.
Local input
Local people have recently taken part in a series of workshops in Rothbury and Wooler designed to help the RAMP Team
understand how people engage with the rock art in the landscape, what information would enhance their visit, and how they
might prefer to access that information. The workshops have been a great success and we have now started to process all the
information gathered. The next stage will be to combine all the great comments and reflections from the workshop participants
with the data and images in the England’s Rock Art (ERA) database (http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/era/), and use them to
develop a series of concept prototypes. These will be evaluated by participants in a second round of workshops before the final
product is produced which could potentially transform the way the rock art and the surrounding landscape is experienced.

Fig 1: Workshop participants consider Weetwood 3a

Technology
New team member Debbie Maxwell, who has expertise in IT design, has
been investigating available technologies, and looking at existing
applications for mobile phones. This included a fascinating visit to Cragside,
a National Trust property near Rothbury which was the home of Lord
Armstrong. The NT team there are experimenting with a new way to
deliver information to visitors using Sony Play Stations! To find out more
about the Cragside project visit the RAMP Blog at
http://rockartmobile.wordpress.com
Rock art tends to be found in locations which are challenging for this type
of technology, with limited network availability, and often exposed to
strong winds; visitors bring a variety of handsets with different potential.
RAMP is aware of all these issues and we will be seeking to achieve a
practical solution which will be accessible to as many people as possible.
Fig 2: Workshop participant brushing the panel (with soft bristles!) at
Lordenshaw (Image credit: Debbie Maxwell)
Location, Location, Location
Three suitable rock art locations have been identified as being relatively stable and able to withstand potentially increased
visitor numbers. The sites likely to be used are: Lordenshaw near Rothbury, Weetwood Moor near Wooler, and Dod Law,
near Doddington. These were selected in consultation with local heritage agencies, and based on information regarding their
current state of conservation and future threats which was collected by volunteers participating in the Northumberland and
Durham Rock Art Project (NADRAP).

If you have any thoughts about rock art and mobile phones or would like to get involved please call Debbie or Kate on 0191
2225566 or email us at Deborah.Maxwell@ncl.ac.uk or Kate.Sharpe@ncl.ac.uk. Follow progress on the RAMP Blog at
http://rockartmobile.wordpress.com and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RockArtMobile
This project is funded by AHRC (AH/H037608/1)

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 Issue No 4: Autumn 2010

GET INVOLVED: A new volunteering opportunity in West Yorkshire

CSI: Rombalds Moor Carved Stone Investigations in a Watershed Landscape

The excellent work begun by volunteers in the Northumberland and Durham Rock Art Project (NADRAP) in creating the
England’s Rock Art (ERA) database (http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/era/), will continue thanks to a new initiative in West
Yorkshire. Earlier this year Pennine Prospects* was awarded a HLF grant of £1.9 M towards the Watershed Landscapes Project
which is also in receipt of Leader funding. This is a wide ranging project covering 5 major themes, one of them being
the Historic Environment. This involves the appointment of a Community Archaeologist, Gavin Edwards, and funding for a
number of smaller projects to record aspects of the historic environment across the South Pennines.
One of these projects involves the recording of the carved stones of Rombalds Moor, and we are pleased to announce that,
following a tendering process, the project was awarded to a bid submitted by the team who managed the NADRAP Project:
Tertia Barnett, Kate Sharpe, and Richard Stroud. This means that all the methodology developed by the NADRAP volunteers,
and all the valuable lessons learnt during the pilot project can now be applied to a new region. It also means that the ERA
database will be expanded beyond the North East, with an anticipated further 800 records created by trained volunteers. These
new records will be consistent with the existing data, allowing better comparison and analysis between regions. The application
of photogrammetry, one of the most exciting developments to come out of the NADRAP work will provide an accurate and
objective baseline record of the current state of the rock art panels, and help to develop management priorities for the future.
The Rombald’s Moor Area has a strong history of local, amateur involvement in rock art recording with key figures including
Stewart Feather, Edward Vickerman, and Keith Boughey. The database, drawings, and photographs compiled by the Ilkley
Archaeology Group will form the basis of the new records, just as the Beckensall Archive provided a strong foundation for the
NADRAP project.

Idol Stone (Image credit: Richard Stroud)

How to get involved

The new project will kick off with a public event on 6 Nov 2010 in Ilkley (see Dates for your Diary), with a day of
presentations explaining the project background and methodologies. Recruitment will be via an application form, available at
the event, or from Gavin Edwards at Gavin.Edwards@pennineprospects.co.uk. For more information please check out the project
blog site at http://csirm.wordpress.com.

*Pennine Prospects was established in 2005 to support the regeneration of the South Pennines. The company is owned by the key local
authorities, water companies, Natural England and voluntary/community sector. For more information see
http://www.pennineprospects.co.uk/

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 Issue No 4: Autumn 2010

FEATURED PANELS: ‘Painting the panel’ technique reveals new megalithic art

Since 2002, a team of researchers led by George Nash (Bristol University and Adam Stanford (Archaeology Safaris and Aerial-
Cam) has been carrying out an extensive survey of Neolithic and Bronze Age Monuments in North Wales and North West
England. The Anglesey Rock Art Project (ARAP) revealed new carvings at the Late Neolithic passage graves of Barclodiad y
Gawres and Bryn Celli Ddu, and the destroyed monument at Cromlech Farm. Outside Anglesey new discoveries were made at
the (probable) Middle Neolithic double chambered stone monument of Dyffryn Ardudwy near Harlech (Nash & Stanford
forthcoming) and, in 2006 the team were commissioned by Merseyside Archaeological Society to record photographically the
Calderstones monument, revealing previously unrecorded marks on the stones.
Barclodiad y Gawres, Anglesey
Barclodiad y Gawres survives as a partly reconstructed circular mound
with an entrance (unusually) at the north leading to a 7m north-south
passage and central gallery with three antechambers. It has finely-
pecked rock art on six of the 22 upright stones. Since 2009, the ARAP
team has identified a further set of finely pecked motifs on the eastern
gallery pillar (Stone L8) and on the upper ridge of the back wall of the
eastern antechamber (Stone C3). The discoveries were made using
oblique movable lighting in front of a camera fixed to a tripod. The
survey team found a series of faint, pecked parallel lines and up to
three concentric circles on Stone L8. Two of these very faint motifs
were ‘hidden’ under 20th century graffiti. On Stone C3 a linear row of
triangles, cut into the upper ridge of the stone, were also
discovered. Several weathered cup marks were also identified on top of
the capstone that partially covers the southern chamber, along with
further cup marks on two uprights that form the northern section of the
western chamber.
Anglesey Rock Art Project Fig 1: Tracing faint peck marks at Barclodiad y Gawrres
http://www.archaeology-safaris.co.uk/project-arap.html
The Calderstones, Liverpool
The Calderstones comprise six highly decorative stones (A to F). Recording methodology
employed during sessions in October and December 2007 included photographic techniques
utilizing controlled lighting or what the team term ‘painting the panel’. The survey, undertaken
mainly during darkness hours, recorded a number of new motifs including a dagger that is
indicative of the Bronze Age rock art tradition in Galicia, north-western Spain. A similar dagger
was recorded by one of the authors at the Fentáns site in the Campo Lameiro Valley, near the
provincial town of Ponteverda. Bradley et al. (1994) has identified imagery within this valley
and has proposed a plausible landscape narrative whereby the rock art panels act as
procession markers, drawing big game such as red deer through a proscribed route.
The careful and systematic recording of all these new motifs and where they sit within the
panel narrative will provide researchers with the potential to reappraise these striking,
enigmatic symbols of a long distant past where every event, performance and aspect of
everyday life was probably steeped in ritual.
Thanks to George Nash and Adam Stanford for the information and images.

Fig 2: The complex panel design on the rear face of Stone D. Located within the central lower
section of the face is a SE European-style dagger.

References:
Bradley, R., F. Criado Boado, and R. Fábregas Valcarce. 1994. Rock art research as landscape archaeology: a pilot study in
Galicia, north-west Spain. World Archaeology. 25(3): 374-390.
Nash, G. H., C. Brook, A. George, D. Hudson, E. McQueen, C. Parker, A. Stanford, A. Smith, J. Swann and L. Waite 2005. Notes
on newly discovered rock art on and around Neolithic burial chambers in Wales. Archaeology in Wales 45: 12-16.

Nash, G. H. & Stanford, A. 2007. New megalithic art within the Neolithic passage grave of Barclodiad y Gawres. Rock Art
Research 24: 257-260.

Nash, G.H. & Stanford, A. 2009. Newly discovered megalithic art at the Neolithic chambered monument of Dyffryn Ardudwy
North Wales (NGR SH 5887 2294). Rock-art Research. Vol. 26(1): 101-105.

Nash, G. and Stanford, A. 2010, Encryption and display: Recording new images on the Calderstones in Liverpool in Barnett, T.
and Sharpe. K. (eds) Carving a Future for British Rock Art, Oxbow, Oxford.

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 Issue No 4: Autumn 2010

DATES for your DIARY: Forthcoming Conferences and Events

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

31st October
Archaeology in the Lake District 2010 (organised by the National Park), Keswick.
Held at the Theatre by the Lake, Keswick. Fee: £11 (£16.75 including lunch). Parking voucher £2.
Topics include: landscape survey of Sizergh Castle, Longhouse structures in the Lake District, submerged forests at Eskmeals,
and historic boats in the Lake District.
For details and booking forms see:
http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/index/learning/archaeology/archaeologynewsandevents/archaeologyevents/archaeologynews.htm

6th November
CSI: Rombalds Moor. Carved Stone Investigations in a Watershed Landscape
Held at Church House, All Saints Parish Church, Church Street, Ilkley.
Free entry. This event launches this new volunteer-led project to create a base-line record of the carved stones on Rombalds
Moor. The project team and other experts will provide an introduction to British rock art, an overview of the current state of
rock art recording, and will present details of the methodology to be used and roles to be filled for the project. Audience
members will be invited to apply to join the team by application.
For further details contact Gavin Edwards at Gavin.Edwards@pennineprospects.co.uk

20th November
South Yorkshire Archaeology Day (South Yorkshire Archaeology Service)
Held at the Showroom cinema, only a short walk from Sheffield bus and train station. Fee: £10 (£5 concessions). Additional
sandwich lunch option available at £6.25 per head. Booking by 8.11.10 essential.
This annual day school presents the results of recent excavation and research within South Yorkshire. For more information
contact David Marsh at Development Services, Sheffield City Council, Howden House, 1 Union Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
S1 2SH, tel 0114 273 4223, web www.sheffield.gov.uk/planning-and-city-development/urban-design--conservation/archaeology/arch-day.

27th November
West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service, 10th Annual Day School
Held at Royal Armouries, Leeds. Fee: £12.
The morning programme will bring delegates up to date with the results of recent archaeological work in West Yorkshire, both
above and below ground as well as details of the work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme's West and South Yorkshire's Finds
Liaison Officer. The afternoon programme will focus on what archaeology can tell us about food and dining in Roman, Medieval
and Post-Medieval eras. Presentations will also be made by the Friends of Buck Wood, who will be talking about their recent
excavations and exciting discoveries at Buck Wood, near Idle in Bradford. For more information contact Becky Harlow, tel 0113
344 1681, email bharlow@wyjs.org.uk, web www.archaeology.wyjs.org.uk/.

INSPIRED by ROCK ART

Rock art inspires many different creative responses. If you have produced something rock art related and would like to share it
with Rock Articles readers, drop me a line at kesharpe@live.co.uk.

Imagine this man

Imagine this bloke
Back in the old days, like
You know, ages ago
And he’s passing through
Looking for mammoths and whatnot
Fruit and berries and hell, water!
Well, what was he thinking
When he stopped in this dip of the scarp
And pulled out his trusty flint
And carved these cups and rings?

….he thought, ah sod it,

Ah can nivver git the bugger
Properly round, like, you know,
Round as the friggin’ Moon.
Still, eh?
Mebbe next time!

Will Wordspeck, 2010.

Rock art created in the snow by Pete Style, 2009.

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 Issue No 4: Autumn 2010

ROCK ART READS: New and Forthcoming Publications

Carving a Future for British Rock Art: New Directions for Research, Management
and Presentation edited by Tertia Barnett and Kate Sharpe, Oxbow Books
It’s finally here! It’s a while since this book was featured in Rock Articles Issue 1…but it is now
available.
From the Oxbow website: “Over the last few years, the ways in which we perceive and document
rock art have shifted irreversibly. This volume makes a powerful case for an archaeology that
integrates rock art into a wider vision of the past. It brings together the experiences and informed
opinions of the key organizations and stakeholders responsible for the conservation, management
and accessibility of British rock art. An on-going and exciting period of change is documented here
and the main issues that underpin the survival of our prehistoric carved heritage are addressed.”
ISBN-13: 978-1-84217-364-0 ISBN-10: 1-84217-364-2, 240p, 111 b/w & colour illus, 15 tables
Price: GB £65.00 (Hardback)
http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/86309

Changing Pictures: Rock Art Traditions and Visions in the Northernmost Europe
edited by Ingrid Fuglestvedt, Joakim Godlhahn and Andrew Jones, Oxbow Books.

From the Oxbow website: Changing Pictures aims to return to traditional interpretative
notions regarding the meaning and significance of rock art to investigate if and why any
information had been left behind to recover and rethink. …By reassessing traditional
approaches to Scandinavian rock art and creatively reworking these ideas, whilst also
addressing significant new concepts such as the agency of rock and the performativity of rock
art, this anthology of papers offers not only a snapshot of current debates, but also reflects
pivotal changes in the study of rock art.
ISBN-13: 978-1-84217-405-0; ISBN-10: 1-84217-405-3. Paperback: 272p 159 b/w & colour
illus.
Price: GB £38
http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/88232

World Rock Art: The Primordial Language by Emmanuel Anati.

From the Oxbow website: This volume is a basic introduction to rock art studies. It marks the
starting point of the new methodology for rock art analysis, based on typology and style, first
developed by the author at the Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici. This book demonstrates
the beginnings of a new discipline, the systematic study of world rock art. This edition is a
revised and updated version of Anarti's classic text, first published in English in 1993.
Emmanuel Anati was heavily involved with the UNESCO and ICOMOS assessments into the
state of world research into rock art. Here he presents some of his thoughts and feelings
about these two commissioned reports, about the types of research carried out in rock art
studies, changing goals within these studies and the future for the field of study.

ISBN-13: 978-1-905739-31-8; ISBN-10: 1-905739-31-1. Paperback: 160p, 162 b/w

Price: GB £19.95
http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/26698

The Rock Art of Norway by Trond Lodoen and Gro Mandt, Windgather Press.

From the Oxbow website: …In Norway, rock art has been found at more than 1100 sites.
Many motifs occur regularly across the region, others are unique to certain sites. The design
and composition of even the most common motifs vary hugely in different parts of the country
according to both the era and function of the particular site...Whether the images of the
hunter nomads and the farmers represent two distinct and independent traditions, or whether
they represent a continuous tradition encompassing changes in expression over time, is still
today an unresolved issue. This book raises questions about the meanings that can be derived
from the rock art of Norway and aims to study the images in the context of other traces found
of the same society. Through the sites explored and the stories told, this book represents a
voyage in time and space from the oldest images to the youngest, from farthest north to
farthest south of the country.

ISBN-13: 978-1-905119-28-8; ISBN-10: 1-905119-28-3. Paperback, 344p, col illus throughout.

Price: GB £25
http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/85691

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