Prehistoric Rock-Art

 Prehistory is full of unsolved mysteries, but so called 'rock art' - boulders and natural outcrops decorated with cup-shaped hollows, concentric rings and other patterns, sometimes in highly elaborate designs - remains perhaps the biggest enigma of them all. For centuries, people have puzzled over the meaning of these symbols, often believing them to be the work of pixies or supernatural forces. We now know that most examples were chipped and ground into the exposed rocks around 4,000 years ago, towards the end of the Stone Age (Neolithic period) and at the beginning of the Bronze Age. However, we know little about what they may have meant to the people who created them. Many examples of rock art are associated with burial monuments, implying that they were perhaps seen as sacred objects. Others occupy remote hillsides overlooking valleys and high passes, suggesting that they served as territorial markers or signposts along important routes.

 English Heritage is currently working with local authorities and others to support a project to record every example of rock art in the country to a common standard. By encouraging local amateur groups and individual enthusiasts to lend their energy and experience to the investigation, it is hoped to achieve a truly national overview for the first time. Training is being offered to volunteers to ensure the recording is carried out to a common standard. As well as providing fresh clues to the functions of rock art, the new database will also help landowners and relevant authorities to care for these important monuments for future generations.

 The pilot for the national project is to take place in Northumberland and Durham, both counties with large numbers of rock-art sites. If you're interested in getting involved in the project, please contact Tertia Barnett on 01670 533076 or e-mail tbarnett@northumberland.gov.uk.

 One strand of English Heritage's involvement will come in the form of detailed analysis and survey of a selection of the most complex and informative sites. Stones decorated with rock art seldom stand in isolation, but relate to ancient fields, burial monuments and settlements, all of which can sometimes still be recognised on the surface. Studying the individual decorated stones in the contexts of their surrounding landscapes may hold the key to deciphering the tantalising 'language' of rock art. There are other important questions to explore: how does rock art relate to the natural lie of the ground, and to earlier use of the land? How did later activity affect its survival and visibility? The detailed studies, which began in the winter of 2004-5, aim to offer standards and guidelines for the next stage in the on-going quest to solve the ancient riddle of the stones.

To find out more about the pilot project, visit the websites of Northumberland or Durham County Councils. To find out more about English Heritage's involvement, phone Al Oswald on 01904 601 901 or e-mail al.oswald@english-heritage.org.uk.