Rock Articles 5

8/7/2019 Rock Articles 5

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Issue No 5: Spring 2011

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RRRoooccckkkAAArrrtttiiicccllleeesssIssue No. 5: Spring 2011

Dear All,

The British winter failed to deter all you hardy rock art enthusiasts, and there is plenty to report this spring, as well as lots ofconferences and events to look forward to. As ever, my thanks to everyone who provided text, images, or suggestions. If youwould like to contribute to the Autumn 2011 issue Id love to hear from you at the email address below.

It was with great sadness that I learned this week that much loved rock art researcher Jan Brouwer is terminally ill, andspending his last moments with friends and family at home. Jans passion for British and Irish rock art, together with hisdetermination to promote the subject, and willingness to share his extensive knowledge won him a large and loyal following ofrock art researchers and enthusiasts from many quarters. His wonderful website, sadly no longer available, provided instantaccess to a vast collection images and information, testimony to Jans dedication and extensive knowledge and experience (seepage 10). Our thoughts are with you and your family, Jan.

Kate

April [email protected]

Contents:

3D Rock Art in The Cave of Forgotten Dreams: in cinemas now!........................................................... 1

New British Discoveries:Scottish special .................................................................................................. 2

World Rock Art on the Web: international news and links.........................................................................3

Colourful Cups: an alternative perspective?................................................................................................ 5

Lasers Return to Stonehenge: ................................................................................................................ 6

Recording Projects: updates from West Yorkshire and Derbyshire.............................................................. 7

RAMP Update: The latest from the Rock Art Mobile Project .........................................................................8

Featured Panel: The Badger Stone, Ilkley Moor .......................................................................................... 9

The British Rock Art Collection: can we rebuild it?................................................................................. 10 Inspired by Rock Art: creative responses to cup and ring marks .............................................................. 11

Dates for your Diary: forthcoming conferences, day schools, and other events ......................................... 12

Rock Art Reads: new and forthcoming publications .................................................................................. 13

3D Rock Art in The Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Dont miss your chance for an amazing virtual tour of

Palaeolithic art!

Discovered in 1994, Chauvet Cave in Ardche, southern

France is considered to be one of the most significantprehistoric art sites and contains the earliest known cave

paintings, as well as other evidence of Upper Palaeolithic

life.

The recently released Werner Herzog documentary which

opened in selected cinemas this month is a fantastic

opportunity to experience the caves in all its sparkling and

dramatic glory. The 3D effect really brings the paintings to

life and allows the viewer to appreciate how cleverly the

artists employed the contours of the cave walls so very

different to looking at static pages in a book.

Cinemas showing the film can be found at http://www.caveofforgottendreams.co.uk/

For a more detailed account of the film see Andy Burnhams review on The Megalithic Portal:

http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146413972


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NEW BRITISH DISCOVERIES: SCOTTISH SPECIAL

Below are just a selection of the many finds made by independent researcher George Currie in the last couple of years (images kindly

provided by George). The number of panels recorded in Scotland has grown rapidly recently. More details of these panels and other

Scottish rock art can be found on the Canmore database at www.rcahms.gov.uk/canmore.html

Balimeanach (Stirling) March 2011

Found just as Rock Articles was going to press George reported three

new panels, about 500 m apart: a single cup on very hard igneous rock,and two more complex examples. The area is on the other side of Loch

Earn from Glen Beich (below). George notes that no other prehistoricremains have been recorded for 6 km in either direction along this sideof the loch.

Glen Beich (Stirling) March 2011George found this cup-marked rock500 m NNW of the meeting of the

Beich Burn and Allt Leacachan. The panel measures 1.4 x 1.3 x 0.5 mand has at least forty-two cup-marks. 220 m NNE of this, an area ofbedrock bears a single cup-mark. Nearby George found another

prominent boulder with three cup marks on its upper surface and thirty-three cup marks on its steeply sloping south western face The site hasextensive views along over the Loch Earn, and the most obvious natural

route through the glen. This brings the total in the Glen Beich group to

nine.

Kiltyrie (Perth and Kinross) Oct 2010

This cup-marked boulder was found by George 160 m NW of the Kiltyriechambered cairn. The boulder, which measures 1.5m x 1.0 x 0.4, has at

least twenty-seven cup-marks. Just 30 m NE of the chambered cairn, a

second boulder has a possible single cup-mark.

Upper Glenny (Stirling) Sept 2010George has recorded a number of panels in the Upper Glenny area.The

image showsa stretch of bedrock with five cup-marks, a cup with fourrings, a cup with two wide irregular rings, and another cup with two

rings; the southern section has eight cup-marks.Just 8 m S of this, asecond outcrop has two areas of cup markings, one with twelve cups andthe other with seven, one of which has two wide rings. A third outcrop

nearby has two large cup marks.

An Torr (Perth & Kinross) Sept 2010

This rock, that George notes has been mechanically removed from aknoll, has five engraved motifs that are closer to ellipses than rings, andone triangular shaped motif. The markings are similar to megalithic

motifs and unlike the typical rock art of the area (George has found a

total of thirteen here over the years!)

Lawers Burn (Perth and Kinross) June 2010This panel lies to the east of the Ben Lawers track and within 4 m of ashieling. It measure 1.8m x 0.9 and has twenty nine cup-marks at least

four of which are ringed, and six dumb-bells or conjoined cups.


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WORLD ROCK ART on the WEB

News from Libya, New Zealand, Australia, and Norway

Archaeology in Libya under threat

As the unrest in the Middle East spreads, the cultural heritage of the area is at growingrisk. In Libya, eleven Italian researchers were evacuated from Libya in a C-130

Hercules military aircraft and were thankful to escape to an air-force base south of

Rome. The team of seven men and four women were from the ItalianLibyanArchaeological Mission in the Acacus and Messak, an expedition to research prehistoric

archaeology and rock-art. They took temporary refuge in an oilfield camp in the opendesert.

See the full article for details, and a map of archaeological sites in Libya athttp://www.nature.com/news/2011/110302/full/news.2011.132.html

To find out more about Libyan rock art see: http://www.libyarockart.com/Image from

http://www.libyarockart.com/

Rock art under cremations in Norway

A routine excavation of a burial mound at Stjrdal, just north of

Trondheim has revealed Bronze Age rock art. Beneath a cremation layer,archaeologists from the Norwegian University of Science and

Technology's Museum of Natural History and Archaeology found a series

of petroglyphs, including eight drawings showing the soles of feet, withcross hatching, and five shallow depressions. Two boat drawings andseveral other drawings of feet soles with toes were also found just south

of the burial mound. Science Daily (Jan. 31, 2011)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110131073133.htm

Screen clipping taken: 10/03/2011, 16:05

Scientists stumble on ancient Timor rock art

Experts were digging for fossils in Timor's Lene Hara cave, when they chanced upon a group

of stylized human faces etched in the rock. The face carvings, which include one with acircular headdress resembling the sun, are the first of their kind to be found in Timor and theonly ones from the Pleistocene period (ending 12,000 years ago) in the region.

"The local landowners with whom we were working were stunned by the findings. They said

the faces had chosen that day to reveal themselves because they were pleased by the fieldwork we were doing," said Ken Aplin of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and ResearchOrganization (CSIRO).

See: http://nanopatentsandinnovations.blogspot.com/2011/02/giant-rats-lead-scientists-to.html

Original article: O'Connor S, Aplin K, St Pierre E, and Feng Y-X. 2010. Faces of the ancestorsrevealed: discovery and dating of a Pleistocene-age petroglyph in Lene Hara Cave, East Timor. Antiquity

84(325):649665. Credit: John Brush

New Zealand rock art under threat

Even before the recent earthquake of New Zealands South Island rock art (around 580 sites on limestone) faced all kinds of

challenges. In May 2010 a massive rockslide caused by heavy rain in North Otago threatened the preservation of a popular

ancient Maori rock drawing site. An overhanging piece of rock crashed down. Fortunately, the rock art is in the alcove area,under the overhang.

The September earthquake also caused concern and the Ngai Tahu Maori Rock Art Centre asked landowners with rock art siteson their property to check for quake damage. The $2.7 million Rock Art Centre which opened in December 2010 fulfils alongstanding dream of Ngai Tahu to both protect the 500 rock art sites in Canterbury and Otago and bring back many of the

examples removed early last century and placed in museums. Lets hope the recent quakes havent caused further problems.

http://www.teana.co.nz/

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3741510/Rockslide-hits-Otago-rock-drawing-site


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Caribbean Cave Art Captured

An innovative project in the Dominican Republic has brought together experts in bothancient myths and modern digital photography.

Robert Mark and Evelyn Billo of Rupestrian CyberServices in Arizona used D-Stretch

image enhancement and GigaPan panorama technology to help record the ancient

rock art of the Dominican Republic. Daniel DuVall, a researcher and photographer ofancient art in the area, and Domingo Abru, Head of Caves for the Dept of the

Environment for the Dominican Republic, served as guides to both the locations of theart and the meanings behind it.

You can take a look at some of the amazing GigaPans created at

http://www.rupestrian.com/

See also http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2011/02/caribbean-cave-art-myths-revea.html

Image is an extract from Panorama: Rock Art of Hoyo de Sanabe

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology/gigapan/sanabe/

Screen clipping taken: 10/03/2011, 15:45

Image: Michael Rainsbury

Microbes help with dating of Kimberley rock art

A team led by retired neuroscientist Professor Jack Pettigrew from the University ofQueensland has made a breakthrough that could help date the Australian rock art moreaccurately. Bradshaw rock paintings are scattered through remote caves in the Kimberleyand depict elongated figures in elaborate dress, and extinct animals. While some rock art

fades in hundreds of years, the Bradshaw art remains colourful after at east 40,000 years.

Pettigrew has shown that the paintings have been colonised by colourful bacteria and fungi.He says he has proven the vivid colours in some of the paintings are the result of paint

pigments being replaced by living organisms. These The "living pigments" may explain

previous difficulties in dating such rock art. Pettigrew now plans to sequence the micro-organism's DNA, found in the paint pigments, to try to narrow down the era in which they

were created.For more details see:

BBC report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12039203

Antiquity Journal Gallery: http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/pettigrew326/

Rock art dinosaurs?

A petroglyph on a rock formation in Utah is causingfierce debate, reports The Daily Mail this week!Creationists are claiming the famous dinosaur petroglyph

at the Kachina Bridge formation in Natural Bridges

Natural Monument in south-eastern Utah is proof thatdinosaurs and humans co-existed, but a new paper

published in Palaeontologia Electronica argues that the

image depicts a snake, with mud stains that confuse theeye into thinking it is seeing legs.

Biology professor Phil Senter and petroglyph expert SallyCole came to the conclusion that the dinosaur was

actually a composite resulting in a kind of 'paraeidolia,the psychological phenomenon of perceiving significancein vague or random stimuli, e.g., seeing animals inclouds or the face of a religious figure in a food item.'

David Menton, a biologist at the Creationist Museum said

that Cole's findings had to be disregarded as sheexamined the petroglyph from a distance with binoculars

- not close up. He said he was prepared to accept it wasa dinosaur - or even some other creature.

Several other drawings at Kachina Bridge also appear to

be of dinosaurs, including a triceratops. But Senter and

Cole claim that those images, also, are either composites

or do not resemble any four-legged animal they canidentify.

Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1370476/Petroglyph-Utah-Proof-dinosaurs-humans-existed-just-mud-stain.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Read the full article: Senter, Phil and Cole, Sally J., 2011. Dinosaurpetroglyphs at Kachina Bridge site, Natural Bridges NationalMonument, southeastern Utah: not dinosaurs after all.Palaeontologia Electronica. 14, Issue 1

http://palaeo-electronica.org/2011_1/236/index.html

Image from Daily Mail website.


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COLOURFUL CUPS?

Rock art is traditionally divided into petroglyphs (engraved/incised)and pictographs (painted/drawn). Very rarely do we encounterpainted petroglyphs, and no examples have yet been found in

Britain or Ireland. Does this mean that cup and ring marks were

never coloured, or is it just that the North Atlantic climate hasremoved all trace of any pigment? Might rock art, like Greek and

Egyptian statues, or Medieval cathedrals, have once been vibrantlycoloured? The discoveries, reported recently in CurrentArchaeology, of orange, red and yellow stones in Orkney suggests

that colour was an important part of Neolithic life. Should we

consider the possibility that the cups and rings were once part of abrightly decorated prehistoric landscape?

Note: Modern painting of petroglyphs is not encouraged:see page 9 for recent vandalism in West Yorkshire.

West Horton 2a, Northumberland, with colourfulvirtualtouch-up.

Interior dcor

Red, yellow and orange pigments (made from ground up iron oxide) have been found decorating five stones which formed the

interior walls of houses in a Neolithic settlement on Orkney. Although this is a domestic setting the stones are decorated with

lines and chevrons very similar to patterns incised or pecked onto stones from the same site. Small pots containing paint havealso been found at Neolithic settlements such as Skara Brae where it has been suggested that paint (in this case, red and white

pigment) was used to decorate the walls. Infra-red photography of the walls of the Neolithic tomb at Maeshowe also showedpossible traces of pigment that corresponded to a semicircular design incised onto the stone. Might this be an example of a

painted petroglyph?

Painted stonework in house structures at the Ness of Brodgar, Orkney. Images courtesy of Nick Card,Senior Projects Manager Orkney Research Centre for Archaeology (ORCA)

No need for paint?

Creating the motifs involved puncturing the weathered outer skin or patina of the rock to expose the

lighter or different coloured interior of the stone. Freshly pecked motifs would have stood out from thedarker, natural rock surface without the need for paint. However, the bright new motifs would quicklyfade with the effects of weathering, oxidation, and vegetation. Might they have been refreshed by

pecking on special occasions, effectively turning them back on?

(Image from an experiment carried out by as part of the Fading Rock Art Landscapes project in 2003,

reproduced with permission from Tertia Barnett.)

Further readingBradley, R., T. Philllips, C. Richards, and M.Webb, 2001. Decorating the houses of the dead: Incised and pecked motifs inOrkney chambered tombs. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 11(1): 45-67.

Card, N.,2010.Colour, cups and tiles - recent discoveries at the Ness of Brodgar.PAST, 66: 1-3.

Childe, V. G. 1931. Skara Brae: a Pictish village in Orkney. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trbner.


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LASERS RETURN to STONEHENGE

A new survey of all visible faces of the stones atStonehenge using laser scanning is currentlyunderway. It follows an earlier laser survey in 2002-3.

Prior to laser technology, a number of Bronze Age

carvings were recorded at the site including thefamous dagger and axehead found by Richard

Atkinson in 1953, and 13 other axes, on the inner face

of one of the imposing Trilithon sarsens, Stone 53. Afurther 26 axes were been claimed on the outer face

of sarsen Stone 4, and three on the outer face of

Stone 3, both in the stone circle. The axes varied from8 to 36 cm long. Other shapes were also recorded,

such as a possible trellis or lattice pattern on Stone 3,

hollows, a shallow rectangle, ribs, and cup-marks.

The 2002/3 investigation by Wessex Archaeology and Archaeoptics,(reported in British Archaeology, http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba73/feat1.shtml)scanned the stones with the greatest number of known carvings: Stones3, 4, and 53. Close analysis of the resulting 3D models revealed two new

axe-like shapes on the left hand side of Stone 53, though earlier plansindicated nothing there. The first carving measured 15 by 15.3 cm, with

a broad upturned blade, and a form of 'rib' a third of the way down thelength - possibly representing two axes, one carved over another. Thesecond carving, 10.6 by 8.6 cm, was extremely faint, but seems to be a

normal flanged axe, as found elsewhere on the stone. In their BritishArchaeology article the researchers posed the question of what could befound if the entire monument were recorded in this way?

Perhaps we will now find out as, eight years later a new, comprehensive

laser survey is now underway. This will be the most accurate digitalmodel ever for the world famous prehistoric monument, measuringdetails and irregularities on the stone surfaces to a resolution of 0.5mm.

Laser scanning is also being used to map the earthworks immediatelyaround the stone circle, and the surrounding landscape, as part of a

wider project.This new survey will capture a lot more information on the subtleties ofthe monument and its surrounding landscape says Paul Bryan, head ofgeospatial surveys at English Heritage.

The team will be looking for rock art, but also for more modern graffitisuch as that thought to have been made by Sir Christopher Wren whose

family had a home nearby.

You can listen to English Heritage archaeologist Dave Batchelor illustratethe aims of the survey at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxAnanfB_rg

Other web links:

http://www.stonehengelaserscan.org/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12688085

Further reading:

Atkinson, K.B., 1968. The recording of some prehistoric carvings at Stonehenge. The Photogrammetric Record6 (April): 24-31.

Crawford, O.G.S., 1954.The symbols carved on Stonehenge.Antiquity28: 25-31.

Goskar, T.A., A. Carty, P. Cripps, C. Brayne & D. Vickers, 2003.The Stonehenge Laser Show. British Archaeology73: 9-15.

Rogers, N., 1991. Early evidence for Stonehenge carvings? Wiltshire Archaeology and Natural History Society Magazine84: 116.Scarre, C., 1997. Misleading Images: Stonehenge and Brittany.Antiquity71: 1016-1020.


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RECORDING PROJECTS

CSI: Rombalds Moor. Carved Stone Investigations in a Watershed Landscape

Following an enthusiastic response to the call for volunteers

last November, thirty-nine local people have now beenrecruited, and a detailed training programme is underway at

CSI HQ. In early February, after an introductory session in

the warm, the teams ventured onto the wet and windyslopes of Ilkley Moor to have a go at recording the rock artusing the Englands Rock Art standard recording forms. This

involved making a series of measurements andobservations, creating a sketch plan of the immediate area,assessing the current condition and potential risks to the

rock art panels. Despite the (fairly typical) conditionseveryone stayed cheerful and enjoyed getting to grips withcompasses, GPSs, and grain size charts.

A second training opportunity was provided by volunteerand geologist Mike Short, who led groups of volunteers on

Geology Familiarisation walks in the local area, sharing his

knowledge of the local rock formations importantbackground info for the CSI recruits who will need tounderstand the context of the rock art, be able to identify

what is natural and what isnt, and appreciate how thegeological make-up of the panels can affect theirvulnerability to erosion.

Last week saw the beginning of training in basicphotography and the 3D photogrammetry techniques which

will enable the project to build on the great work of the

Ilkley Archaeology Group by creating a detailed andobjective baseline record of the current state of the rock art

panels, and help to develop management priorities for the

future.

English Heritage archaeologist Al Oswald joined thevolunteers for their final training session helping them tolook for clues in the shape of the Rombalds Moor landscape.A good understanding all the lumps and bumps around the

rock art will be important in the creation of good records,

helping the volunteers put the carved panels in a widercontext.

Their training complete, the CSI volunteers have now

embarked on a two month trial phase of recording. Thisshould allow them to get up to speed with the techniques,

iron out any problems, and to develop a fieldwork strategywithin their teams. The main recording phase will then beginin June when better weather and longer daylight hours

should help the project achieve its goal of recording all thepanels on the moor.

You can receive regular updates by subscribing to theproject blog at http://csirm.wordpress.com

Thanks to Colin Beecham and Robin Gray for the images.


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New kid on the rock in Derbyshire

An intrepid rock art enthusiast from Sheffield has taken on the

challenge of recording the rock art of the Peak District in a soloproject. Joe Brown, an Archaeology and Prehistory graduate, will usethe same standard recording form and methodology as the CSI:

Rombalds Moor volunteers and the CSI Project Officers are offering

guidance and support. Joe, now a primary school teacher, discoveredrock art through the Beckensall Archive website, and decided to puthis archaeology training to use. He got in touch with NewcastleUniversity, and soon found himself joining the CSI volunteers for their

fieldwork training day. Joe began his own survey of Derbyshire's rockart sites in the central eastern area towards Sheffield - an area heknows very well having spent the last 20 years climbing and walking

there. By using the Englands Rock Art ERA recording form and

methodology, Joe will be able to add his data and images to the ERAdatabase, further increasing the number of standardised records

which can be analysed, and helping to inform management decisions

in another new rock art area.

Joe Brown gets to grips with the Derbyshire geology

RAMP UPDATE

The Newcastle University Rock Art Mobile Project (RAMP) is making progress towards making selected parts of the digitalinformation in the Englands Rock Art (ERA) database (http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/era/ ) available to rock art visitors on site

via mobile phones. A website optimised for mobile phones will be used to help people to find the panels, to see what is onthem, and to put them into the context of the surrounding landscape. It is also hoped that the mobile platform will stimulateimaginations and help visitors to engage more with the carvings.

A series of workshops last September, with local people in Rothbury and Wooler, helped the RAMP Team understand how

people engage with the rock art in the landscape, and what is important to them. Key findings included frustrations at trying tofind the rock art, a desire to speculate about the meaning of the abstract motifs through conversations and interactions, and a

strong sense of personal connection with both the present and ancient landscape and the people who inhabited it. These wereall key concerns during the development phase of the project, alongside technical challenges such as limited network availability

(although tests have shown that this is sufficient at most of the intended panels, if not always in the car park!); exposed

locations; and the variety of handsets which may be used.

Based on the workshop findings and results of technical testing, a

prototype mobile website was been developed, and earlier this monthparticipants from the September workshops were invited back to evaluateit in the field at Lordenshaw near Rothbury. The feedback from these

sessions will help to shape the final product which will be launched in July

this year. The following paper detailing the project activities and findingswas recently presented at the Museums on the Web 2011 Conference in

Philadelphia:Galani, A., D. Maxwell, A. Mazel, & K. Sharpe. 2011. Situating CulturalTechnologies Outdoors: Designing for Mobile Interpretation of Rock Art in

Rural Britain.

The paper can be accessed online at:http://conference.archimuse.com/mw2011/papers/situating_cultural_technologies_outdoors_desig

If you have any thoughts about rock art and mobile phones or would like to get involved please callDebbie on 0191 2225566 or email [email protected]

You can also follow progress on the RAMP Blog athttp://rockartmobile.wordpress.com and on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/RockArtMobile


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FEATURED PANEL: The Badger Stone, Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire

At over a metre in height and three metres in length, the Badger Stone on Ilkley Moor is an imposing panel. The steeply-slopingsouth-facing surface is carved with an elaborate, interconnecting array of almost 100 cups, rings, and grooves. The sun movesacross the face of the stone during the day, highlighting different areas and motifs in turn. The eastern face is also decorated,although less densely, with motifs which include a half swastika, similar to the more famous 'Swastika Stone' at WoodhouseCrag.

Drawing by Ilkley Archaeology Group (Boughey & Vickerman 2003) Photograph by Barry Wilkinson/CSI: Rombalds Moor

Antiquarian report. The Badger Stone was first documented by J. Romilly Allen (1879) who describes the stone as:

a block of grit-stone 12ft long by 7ft 6in broad, by 4ft high. The largest face slopes at an angle of about 40 degrees to

the horizon, and on it are carved nearly fifty cups, sixteen of which are surrounded with single concentric rings. At the

west end of the stone are a group, three cups with double rings and radial grooves. At the other end, near the top, is a

curious pattern formed of double grooves, and somewhat resembling the swastika emblem At the highest part of the

stone is a rock basin 8in deep and 9in wide. On the vertical end of the stone are five cut cups, three of which have single

rings. This is one of the few instances of cup and ring marks occurring on a vertical face of rock.

Why Badger? The name is thought to date to medieval times when, a Badger man was a corn or flour trader. Neighbouringplace names such as Grainings Head seem to support this, and the nearby 12 th century Cowpers Cross marks an ancient

market which is thought to have taken place here on an old trade route across the moor. Termed by Eric Cowling the Rombalds Way (after the legendary giant, Rombald), this was an important route running east-west across the mid-Pennines. Yorkshire has a number of other badger stones, some also coincident with ancient trade routes, and it has been

argued that these stones may have been the site of annual festivities, perhaps at the autumn equinox, celebrating the grainharvest.

The Badger Stone today. The stone remains a favourite destination for visitors to Ilkley

Moor, being close to a footpath, and a convenient wooden bench. The stone even gives itsname to a local race, the Badger Stone Relay, run annually on Ilkley Moor since 1992.

(This years race is on Wednesday 25 th May). The accessibility of the stone, however,

brings its own problems. In early April this year, CSI: Rombalds Moor volunteer, BarryWilkinson documented the latest episode of vandalism at the stone. The motifs have been

coloured in possibly with a black marker pen. Whoever did this perhaps considers they

are doing a favour for visitors, making the cups and rings more visible, and they have

clearly taken care to colour only the carved areas. Indeed, this kind of interpretation isused elsewhere in the world by heritage managers, to show faint carvings to visitors who

may be disappointed by the eroded marks, especially in poor light. But this practise is nowfalling out of favour with the realisation that by colouring in the carvings we are imposingour own interpretation; sophisticated digital techniques can now be used to enhance the

carvings in a virtual way that does not interfere with the natural, weathered appearance ofthe panels which many visitors prefer.

Photograph by Barry Wilkinson/

CSI: Rombalds Moor

Perhaps we should be thinking about a deterrent to would-be artists. In North Carolina this week a federal judge fined a 29 yr old

man $10,000 and sentenced him to five years probation and 100 hours of community service for scrawling his name into apetroglyph on the Colorado River known as the Descending Sheep panel.

References:

Allen, J. Romilly. 1879. The Prehistoric Rock Sculptures of Ilkley. Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 35.Boughey, K. & E.A. Vickerman. 2003. Prehistoric Rock Art of the West Riding, West Yorkshire Archaeology Service: Leeds.

Cowling, E. T. 1946. Rombalds Way, William Walker: Otley.


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THE BRITISH ROCK ART COLLECTION: Can we rebuild it?

Rock art enthusiasts may have noticed that the British Rock Art Collection (BRAC) website created and maintained by Dutch

rock art researchers Jan Brouwer and Gus van Veen and has been unavailable recently. Jan recounts the story on the British

Rock Art Blog:

On the early morning of the 8th of March, apparently someone in Wakefield pulled the plug (and trigger!)

of the Fotopic server, cashed the bank accounts and is now probably ordering a cool drink on some South

American beach. Fotopic hosted not only the British Rock Art Collection (BRAC) and the Worldwide Rock

Art Selection (WRAS) for about six years but thousands of other websites with over 27 million photos on-

line. With over 18,000 rock art photos on-line and over half a million photo hits so far, the site was used by

many rock art enthusiasts from around the world. But is was not only the photos -hundreds of them

contributed by our good rock art friends- that are no longer enjoyable on the web. Stories and literally

thousands of links to relevant information are gone as well. Thousands of clients trusted the company and

lost all their photos... The chance of a re-appearance of the site gets slimmer by the day and we foresee

that we will never get a glimpse of its content again. And no one saw this coming; no warning in

advance e-mail bounced back, telephone lines dead.. over & out!

http://rockartuk.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/the-british-rock-art-collection-has-vanished/

Since its launch in June 2005 the BRAC website had provided a valuable resource for British Rock Art, fulfilling a role that moreformal databases like Englands Rock Art just cant match. As well as all the imagery on the site (including over 9000

photographs of around 800 rock art sites) the site included many useful links to other relevant websites, following Jan

Brouwers philosophy of linking = thinking = linking! It also provided a forum for new discoveries, and was the trigger for

several of those featured in Rock Articles. Jan and Gus set out with clear objectives for the site: they aimed to ensure that

photos were 'expressive' so that the collection formed a running commentary of the panel, as described in their account of

Cups and rings in cyberspace (2010):

[photos should show the rock art] first seen from a distance, than as found, followed by photos of the

cleaned motifs and the details and some views over the panel to catch the rock art in its landscape setting.

Enjoying a slideshow of a collection which is set-up along this line, feels like walking up to the site, examine the

panel, individual motifs and surrounding landscape and walking away, just as the ancient visitor(s) did 5000

years ago.

They also tried to reflect the changing effects of the seasons, and avoided the inclusion of any modern items, which might spoil

the 'atmosphere' of the rock art site and motifs, preferring to stay as close as possible to the image as seen by the carver and

visitors when they left the panel in the late Stone- and early Bronze Age, and suggesting that technical with (IFRAO) scales

and a North arrow or compass belonged in other collections. They also used a chronological approach, scanning early

lithographs, drawings and early photos by Simpson, Tate, Bruce, and others, creating a fascinating historical perspective, and

tribute to respected rock art researchers of the past.

Gus and Jans 'no direct posting' policy for BRAC meant that all photos were processed by them. This required a personal

contact with the photographers, often leading to more or even better photos. The policy of 'better for worse' photos also

resulted in the regular replacement of (even slightly) less suitable photos by better ones. This maintained the quality of the

collection.

It is strongly hoped that some of the content of the website can be retrieved and the website re-instated. It would be a greatloss to world rock art if this valuable archive cannot be reconstructed perhaps as a tribute to Jan Brouwer who, it was recently

announced, is sadly suffering from a terminal illness. Jans tremendous enthusiasm for British and Irish rock art, together withhis determination to promote the subject, and willingness to share his extensive knowledge, won him a large and loyal followingof rock art researchers and enthusiasts from many quarters, many of whom contributed images and information, and could

perhaps now join together to rebuild the website that was his passion.

Read more about the development of rock art information on the web in:

Brouwer, J. and G. van Veen, 2010. Cups and Rings in Cyberspace. Pitfalls and acceleration in Britain's virtual rock art museum

in T. Barnett and K. Sharpe (eds) Carving a Future for British Rock Art. New directions for research, management, andpresentation, pp 159-164.Oxford: Oxbow.


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INSPIRED by ROCK ART

Rock art inspires many different creative responses. If you have produced something rock art related and would like to share itwith Rock Articles readers, drop me a line [email protected].

Rock arty-fact:A feature of rock art that has been observed by some recorders is that, when water flows oversome panels, it runs down slope from one carving to the next, so that it appears that they been deliberately placed tocreate this trickling effect. In some cases it appears that the natural slope of the rock is aided by carved grooves thatchannel the water between motifs. The panel at the Ketley Crag rock shelter in Northumberland is a good example of

this phenomenon.

IN TIMES TO COME

We wonder ifin times to comepeople like us will lookat these scalloped stonesour cups and ringsthe art and effortand signed-off landscapes of our livesworked like this..

flint flashing onto rockpicking and peckingcups and rings

and we sometimes wonder,will they think:what on earth is going on here?why and when and how and whocould feel and think and do this.

flint flashing onto rockpicking and peckingcups and rings

and will they thinknot only back to usbut like us, forward,fast forward three thousand yearsto where their descendants mightgaze from the craters of the Moonat the hot and bombed outdunes and deserts of Earth.

I hope so becausethats why we make these marks,this

flint flashing onto rockpicking and peckingcups and rings.

Will Wordspeck, 2011Knockshinnie, captured by Brian Kerr


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DATES for your DIARY: Forthcoming Conferences and Events

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

1st May

Sarsen Trail & Neolithic Marathon

Join this fun-filled, multi-terrain running, walking and mountain biking event, taking youthrough the Vale of Pewsey, the Avon Valley and then across the beautiful ancientlandscape of Salisbury Plain between Avebury & Stonehenge. There are races and

distances for all the family (even the dog!). Choose from a Full or Half Marathon, a 7, 11,

15 or 26 mile walk (depending on how energetic you feel) and a brand new, 25 milecircular rough terrain bike route.

http://www.wiltshirewildlife.org/WhatsOn/SarsenTrail/EmailForm.aspx

7-8th May

British Rock Art Group Annual Conference

Held in the Birley Room, Department of Archaeology, Durham University. Time: 10am -

6pm (to be confirmed).Cost: 15. Please book your place by sending a check payable to Durham University to myaddress: Margarita Daz-Andreu; BRAG 2011 conference; Department of Archaeology;Durham University; South Road; Durham DH1 3LE.

21 speakers will present 15-20 minute papers on ongoing and completed rock art projects

in Britain and other parts of the world. See the full programme at:http://www.dur.ac.uk/archaeology/conferences/current/rock_art_2011/

5th June

Rock Art Meeting 2011 Lordenshaw, Northumberland

This annual meeting of rock art enthusiasts will convene at the extensive rock art site of

Lordenshaw in Northumberland, at 10.30 am.

For further details seehttp://rockartuk.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/ram-2011/

30th July

Celebrating the Bull Ring henge

Talks, displays and activities at Dove Holes Community Hall and the Bull Ring Henge, DoveHoles, Derbyshire. Time: 11:00am - 7:00pm

Join the Megalithic Portal Society to celebrate the wonderful Bull Ring prehistoric henge

and 10 years of the Megalithic Portal web resource. A day of talks, displays and activities inDove Holes Community Hall and the henge itself. A free event as part of the Festival of

British Archaeology.http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146413973

13-18th July

XXIV Valcamonica Symposium Art and Communication in Preliterate societies

Held at Capo di Ponte, Brescia, Italy.

For details seehttp://www.ccsp.it/24simposioinglese.html


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ROCK ART READS: New and Forthcoming Publications

No image

available

Rock Art and Ritual Volume Two: Mindscapes of PrehistorybyAlanWalker and Brian Smith

Due April 2011, this builds on their well-received first volume and representsthree additional years of research and analysis by Alan and Brian, placing rock art

in a global context with references to Africa, Australia and South America.

Alan said: The rock art we were looking at in volume one was speaking in a

language that really was lost as land division and organised society developed.Something that was special to mobile groups who used the landscape and

understood the landscape in an almost organic way. While we cant claim to have

unravelled the whole picture, we feel that we really raised some issues that havenever been tackled before and which should open new lines of debate and

research. (Malton & Pickering Mercury, Feb 2011)

ISBN-13: 978-1445601885 ISBN-10: 1445601885, 208p, Amberley Publishing (1 April

2011) Paperback. Not yet published - advance orders taken. Publishers price GB

176.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rock-Art-Ritual-Mindscapes-

Prehistory/dp/1445601885

No imageavailable

An Animate Landscape: Rock Art and the Prehistory of Kilmartin, Argyll,Scotland by Andrew Meirion Jones, Davina Freedman, Blaze O'Connor, HugoLamdin-Whymark, Richard Tipping and Aaron Watson

From the Oxbow website: An Animate Landscape contains the results of a majorresearch project that included excavations of two sites, Torbhlaren and Ormaig,

and the analysis of radiocarbon dates to produce a more coherent chronologicalcontext, as well as taking a broader interpretative approach to the landscape. Thebook argues that the rock art is an active part of the process of socialising the

landscape, in which the landscape became more organised from the Late

Neolithic onwards, and that this organised landscape relates to broader

cosmological concerns. The book is richly illustrated with colour drawings andphotographs done by a series of artists to produce a unique visual record of the

rock art and its place in the landscape, alongside more traditional archaeologicalenquiry.

ISBN-13: 978-1-905119-41-7 ISBN-10: 1-905119-41-0, 400p, 127 col & 44 b/w illus

(Windgather Press, 2011)

Paperback. Not yet published - advance orders taken. Publishers price GB 38.00,Oxbow Price GB 30.95

http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/91134

The Chavn Controversy. Rock Art from the Andean Formative Periodby

Maarten van Hoek

Since 1999 Maarten Van Hoek has been researching rock art in the Andes.

Followers may like to know that his latest publication is now available from

Blurb.com. The book deals with the Formative Period of Andean rock art (roughlybetween 2000 B.C. to A.D. 0) and focuses on imagery that has been labelled

Chavn-style in the past. The book has been lavishly illustrated with more than

150 black-and-white drawings of petroglyphs and rock paintings from more than40 rock art sites in Peru and Chile. Each entry of a rock art site and/or rock artpanel has its own explanatory text. Altogether there are 174 numbered

illustrations (including 23 colour plates and a few distribution maps), plus twoTime Charts.

Price: 41.05 222p, 23 col & 151 b/w illus (Paperback)

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1943422

Visit Van Hoeks website athttp://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/vhra/web/index.html


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View from Creag Ard, looking across a misty Loch Tay towards Beinn Ghas, BenLawers and Meall Garbh. Captured by George Currie.

Rock Articles 5

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