Rock art in Northumberland, part 1: Rothbury
Submitted by SolarMegalith on Friday, 04 January 2013 Page Views: 9267
Rock Art
The prehistoric origin of the carvings was suggested for the first time in 1820s, but it was Stan Beckensall who’s over 40 years of work resulted in discovering and recording of over 1000 rock art panels in various parts of the county. This number was later increased after further carvings were discovered during the survey carried out by NADRAP. According to Waddington’s (1998) chronological model the first phase of carving occurred between 4000 and 2400 BC, when the motifs were carved on the outcrops and boulders in the landscape. Within following two phases (the final one ended in the Early Bronze Age, around 1800 BC) the tradition of rock carving gradually moved from the outcrops to the burial monuments, mainly cairns.
Lordenshaws and Whitton Burn
The area of Lordenshaws is located on Simonside Hills, south of Rothbury. Its central point is an Iron Age multivallate hillfort with remains of a Romano-British settlement. The most spectacular rock art panels are located SW of the hillfort - the major one is recorded as West Lordenshaw 2c, but is commonly known as Lordenshaw Main Rock. This large rock is densely covered with elaborate motifs including cup-marks, cup-and-ring marks, penannulars and grooves. Despite being partly destroyed by quarrying, the Main Rock is still one of the most breathtaking rock art panels in Northumberland. East of it there is West Lordenshaw 1d, commonly known as Horseshoe Rock. This panel is smaller, but also densely decorated with cup-marks, cup-and-ring marks (two of them are multi-ringed) and grooves. South of Horseshoe Rock there are three significant panels located near the top of Birky Hill - a particularly important one is Birky Hill 1c with the alignment of cup-marks and the S-shaped groove.
East of the Lordenshaws hillfort there are numerous Bronze Age cairns and further motifs carved on the outcrops and boulders. The most significant one is East Lordenshaw 4b, known as Channel Rock - this panel includes the longest channel recorded in Northumberland, as well as clearly defined cup-marks. The final concentration of rock art belonging to the Lordenshaws group is located NE of the hillfort. The major panel of this group is North Lordenshaw 6g with 80-90 cups, cup-and-ring marks and channels. In total there are 127 recorded rock art panel in the Lordenshaws.
East of North Lordenshaw group there are Whitton Burn sites - they are less spectacular and sophisticated then the ones on Lordenshaws, but Whitton Burn 1a includes several very deep and well-defined cup-marks carved on a boulder located near the river. Difficult to reach, but quite impressive is Whitton Burn 2a panel with cup-marks and cup-and-ring marks. Some of the other Whitton Burn panels are debatable, especially Whitton Burn 1b (alleged cup-mark, possibly a natural feature) and Whitton Burn N03 (possibly of non-prehistoric origin, discovered during the NADRAP survey).
West Hills
After visiting Lordenshaws and Whitton Burn we follow the Hillside Road from Rothbury, reaching West Hills Camp - it is another Iron Age multivallate hillfort and a small concentration of carvings on the rocks to its east. The most complex panel is West Hills 1a with a dense scatter of cup-marks and grooves, but some of them might be of natural origin. The nearby West Hills 1d panel includes an eroded cup-mark and clear sub-circular groove around it. The latter one looks atypical in comparison with most of the prehistoric grooves in this area, therefore it might be of later origin. Even considering that it is worth to visit West Hills - the Iron Age hillfort is well-preserved in its northern and eastern part and the panoramic view from it is spectacular.
From Cartington Carriageway to Football Cairn
The panels belonging to Cartington Carriageway group are not very sophisticated, but beautifully located. The major one is Cartington Carriageway F, a large bedrock outcrop located on a slope, in a commanding position over the town of Rothbury. The larger and more weathered cup-marks are likely to be prehistoric, but the smaller ones are probably tool-marks connected with quarrying. Another significant panel is Cartington Carriageway A - this small boulder is hidden in high heather west of the footpath towards Football Cairn, it has two large cup-marks. Existence of some of the other panels recorded by Stan Beckensall was not confirmed during the NADRAP survey.
Chirnells Moor group is definitely the most interesting one among the concentrations of rock art north of Rothbury. It includes an extensively decorated bedrock outcrop recorded as Chirnells Moor D by Beckensall - among the motifs there are cup-and-ring marks (some of them covered with lichen) connected by several grooves. West of it, on a small promontory there are Chirnells Moor H (an elongated bedrock outcrop with large cup-marks) and Chirnells Moor E (a small boulder with heavily eroded cup-marks). More panels are located further towards the west, while to the east, beyond the stone boundary wall, there is Chirnells Moor M with several well-defined cup-marks.
From Chirnells Moor the footpath leads towards the north, you have to leave it and turn right to reach another footpath which runs around a rocky hill. On its summit there is Football Cairn, a Bronze Age burial mound with a stone cist covered with a partly tilted large capstone. East and NE of Football Cairn there are several rock art panels, most of them with heavily eroded motifs - in 1971 the field investigators failed to locate them, but the carvings were recorded by Stan Beckensall. The major panel is Football Cairn A with two poorly preserved cup-and-ring marks which are located in the upper part of this bedrock outcrop. Following the footpath omitting Football Cairn at the east we can reach Football Cairn D panel - it is a small boulder lying among the larger rocks just west of the footpath. Furthermore, towards the NW there is a large bedrock outcrop with a cliff recorded as Football Cairn E - near a small natural basin there is a cup-mark with a multiple ring around it, now covered with lichen, but clearly visible under the artificial lighting. From this point, but especially from Football Cairn there is a view towards Cheviot Hills at the north.
Protecting rock art
It is vital to preserve the rock art which is exposed to the acidic rainwater and the animal activity. Some of the rock carvings in Northumberland are buried under the turf - never remove the turf, if you decide to raise it to see the motifs make sure to put it back in place, as it protects the carvings from erosion. Furthermore, avoid walking on the rock outcrops with the motifs and do not use metal tools to clean the panels from animal droppings or mud.
Author: Cezary Namirski (SolarMegalith)
References:
1. Beckensall, S. 2001. "Prehistoric Rock Art in Northumberland". Stroud: Tempus Publishing.
2. Mazel, A.D. 2007. "On the Fells and Beyond: Exploring Aspects of Northumberland Rock-Art" in "Art as Metaphor: The Prehistoric Rock-Art of Britain". Edited by Mazel, A.D. et al. Oxford: Archaeopress.
3. Waddington, C. 1998. "Cup-and-ring marks in context" in "Cambridge Archaeological Journal" 8(1), p. 29-54.
4. www.rockart.ncl.ac.uk
5. www.pastscape.org
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