<< Feature Articles >> The Megalithic Portal links with England’s Rock Art
Submitted by Anne T on Wednesday, 15 August 2018 Page Views: 4597
Rock ArtType: Rock ArtInternal Links:
England’s Rock Art (ERA) is a unique, valuable and comprehensive record of almost 2,100 rock art panels found in County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and the Rombalds Moor area of West Yorkshire.
ERA incorporates photographs, descriptions, photogrammetry and 3-D models initially from the Northumberland and Durham Rock Art project (NADRAP) and the digitised Beckensall Archive. It was then expanded to include the Carved Stone Investigations: Rombald’s Moor (CSI:RM) which incorporates previous work by the Ilkley Archaeology Group). As such, it is the accumulation of many thousands of hours of work by experts such as Dr Stan Beckensall, Dr Aron Mazel, Dr Keith Boughey and Edward Vickerman, professional archaeologists from Northumberland and Durham County Councils and dedicated teams of volunteers.
My reason for wanting to be involved in this project is because I worry about really valuable sources of information being taken off-line or lost because either funding runs out or another project becomes ‘flavour of the month’. As an amateur enthusiast, who can often be found out and about with my camera tramping the fields, I really want to see these astonishing sites preserved for other people to discover.
Richard Stroud adds: “I was involved in NADRAP for two years as the Volunteer Coordinator and helped to both set up and run the CSI:Rombalds Moor project as one of the Project Officers. I’ve also worked extensively to ensure the different sources of information cross-checked and cross-matched – not a small task! As Anne has been inputting new rock art sites on the Portal, and updating existing site pages, I’ve been uploading photographs from my archive and from ERA. I’m delighted to say the Portal now has the most complete database of rock art sites around the UK, along with sites across Europe and beyond.”
Dr Kate Sharpe, who was part of the project team who helped to create the England’s Rock Art website and who publishes the Rock Articles newsletter adds: “There is such a wealth of material available, which has been gathered over a number of years. Very little of England’s rock art is publicly owned, so heritage managers are limited in ways in which these panels are managed and preserved. We have developed standards for volunteers to record and monitor the condition of panels, enabling everyone to get involved. I hope that ERA will ultimately encompass the whole of England.”
One positive thing we can all do is for Megalithic Portal contributors to visit rock art sites and submit our own photographs and visit reports - this should help ERA monitor how panels change or deteriorate over time; in turn ERA can put out alerts for information on sites they are particularly interested in, or which may particularly be at risk. The second is of course to spread the word about rock art in the UK and beyond, generating more interest in these enigmatic sites.
Important note: when visiting panels, please help preserve these unique and important carvings by not stripping any turf off them, if they have a turf covering - this covering protects the rock art underneath and helps stops erosion and trampling by cattle. Even replacing turf after taking it away doesn't guarantee the grass will grow again, leaving the rock exposed and vulnerable.
Here are some starting points to access some of the vast numbers of photos and information Anne and Richard have kindly added - go down to the nearby sites list on any of these pages and start exploring:
In West Yorkshire:
Dobrudden South 01;
Backstone Beck 02;
Cranshaw Thorn Hill 01; and
Green Crag 01.
In Northumberland:
Horseshoe Rock, Birky Hill, West Lordenshaw. The panels on West Lordenshaw are on open access land, and there is also a RAMP (Rock Art on Mobile Phone) trail to follow. Many more panels as East and South Lordenshaw, but some may be covered by turf or eroded and difficult to see unless the light conditions are right;
Snook Bank 4a, near Alnwick/Rothbury. Only about 50% of these panels have photographs - we'd love to see your pictures added to those site pages currently without any images;
The Ringses, near Wooler. These panels are accessed by 'Right of Way' (permissive footpath);
Chatton 1a, also near Wooler. These panels are on open access land; only about 30% of these panels have our photographs - we'd love to see your submissions; and
Millstone Burn 2h. The panels west of the A697 are largely on open access land; those to the east are on private land - please seek permission before accessing those on private land;
In County Durham:
Barningham Moor 62. On Barningham Moor there are over 130 rock art panels, so it's a terrific place just for the sheer number of panels in relatively close proximity. Again, many do not have photographs on our site pages - will you make a contribution? We'd love to see your photos.
Note: in making these recommendations, we've deliberately not included panels on private land, such as the fantastic panels at Weetwood Moor, Fowberry Plantation and Old Bewick, and others. If you wish to visit these, it is really important you seek permission from the landowner first.
Other useful Web Links: England’s Rock Art
The Stone Rows of Great Britain
Prehistoric Dartmoor Walks
The Northern Antiquarian.
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