How many concentric rings?

Anyone know which  carved rock  has the largest number of concentric rings (in the british isles)?

by region would be nice too…………
for the west yorkshire area it looks to be 7 rings on the greystone in the grounds of Harewood house
the north york moors has maybe 4 or 5 rings (need to check this)

I bet its northumberland - but i could be wrong

Cheers
Graeme

Stones Workshop 24 June 2009

Hi Folks,

Aron Mazel asked me to inform you as follows:

On 24 June 2009, the public workshop: “Ancient Stone Monuments: Integrating Management Needs and Scientific Analyses” will take place at the newly opened Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle upon Tyne. Only thirty-five places are available for this public event, so pre-booking is required. Download the programme and booking form, and return the booking form by 22 June. If you are unable to attend, but have specific concerns related to the decay of ASMs that could be addressed thought heritage science, then please send them to scienceandheritage@ncl.ac.uk. Time permitting, these concerns will be discussed during the open discussion at the end of the day or during the closed workshop on 25 June. The workshop on 25 June is closed to Cluster participants only.

Click here for the page with the programme and booking form.

This page is part of a new website “Science and Heritage” ; please take a look!

Cheers,

Jan

RAM’09 Great Success!

Hi Folks,

Thanks to George and all of you, we may look back to yet another great Rock Art Meeting.

The photo presentation of RAM’09 is already on BRAC.

Photos of the splendid rock art will be uploaded to BRAC soon.

That counts also for the captions of the RAM photos.

Thanks again to all for this unforgettable day!

Gus & Jan

RA-landscape in danger!

Dear Rock Art folks,

I just discovered that there is a huge issue over the possible erection of NINE x 110 metre wind turbines on Barmoor – immediately to the rear of Goat Crag and Broomridge.  I had heard about the campaign to stop wind turbines on Barmoor but I heard that the Council had rejected the planning application and I thought that was that.  Today I spoke to Amanda Worlock who is co-ordinating the SOUL campaign (Save Our Unspoiled Landscape)  and she explained that a Public Enquiry into this is now nearing its climax.  The Developers have thrown a lot of money at this, hired a QC, PR company etc – and the campaign group have managed to raise £50,000 or so but are still very much David against Goliath.

The Campaign has a very extensive website that shows the potential impact on this ancient landscape – here:http://www.soul-online.co.uk/

Sadly , very little evidence has been put forward in relation to the Neolithic significance of this area – the Council didn’t put much effort in because they rejected the application at a local level. So there is about TWO WEEKS to make some kind of collective submission.

Here are two maps which show the proposed location of the NINE turbines: (second map)
Apparently there will be a final Public Submissions day at the Enquiry in the Maltings Theatre, Berwick on Tweed on May 27th.  It is too late to send letters of objection direct to the Inspector but if you feel moved to write something about the threat to the landscape above Goat Crag and Broomridge please contact Amanda Worlock as below.

Amanda Worlock
Co-ordinator Save Our Untouched Landscape campaign (SOUL)
Western House
Lowick
TD15 2UD
Tel: 01289 388 259
pandaworlock@aol.com
Please give this some thought – and by the way – there are other windfarms planned for the area – at Bewick and Old Bewick Moor – which would threaten other unique Neolithic sites

2nd Call BRAG 2009

Hi Folks,

Aron Mazel asked me to bring to your attention the second announcement of the BRAG 2009 meeting, held on 9 and 10 May in Newcastle.

Here a link to the announcement and provisional program.

Please forward this link to friends.

Cheers,

Jan

The Devil’s Arrows

Morning all,

I regularily try and drop in on the Devil’s Arrows at Boroughbridge I’m sure most of you are aware of them and possibly have visited them.

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/55019/devils_arrows.html

So here’s the thing, cup marks? are they or aren’t they?

I’ve been sat on the fence over this issue for a number of years and when I mention it to other rock art folk, I get the none commital “well, sort-of, hmmm, I see what you mean” attitude.

So I guess it’s time to come off the fence and maybe stimulate a debate.

I don’t think these marks have a natural origin 

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/73437/devils_arrows.html

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/img_fullsize/73438.jpg

 http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/73439/devils_arrows.html 

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/img_fullsize/73440.jpg

My reasons for questioning  this are;

• That the ‘cups’ only occur from ground level to about 5-6- feet from the ground, ie. they are not uniform ,weathered features.
• There are some ‘cups’ on the southern stone, none on the central stone and quite a few on the northern stone, therefore, again the distribution is not uniform, indicting that the origin may not be geological.
• The distribution of ‘cups’ around the stones themselves is not uniform, the southern  faces of the southern and northern stone seem to be the face of choice
• It is possible that many of these ‘cups’ could be caused by gunshot but again their distribution is not uniform across the stones both horizontically and vertically and no ‘cups’ to be seen over the 6 foot mark.  The size of the ‘cups’ also varies and the cups themselves are quite smooth and ‘cup-like’ in profile . 
• This is an area where a prehistoric rock carving tradition exists.

I realise that this is not a watertight case for these ‘cups’ being prehistoric in origin and like I say, I’m just trying to stimulate a little debate.

 

cheers

Gavin

A Good Read…

Hi Folks,

Perhaps not strictly a rock art book, but the new book by Stan does contain a fair share of carvings. I was honoured to have Stan use my Ketley image for the front cover of the book.

cheers

Brian

Canmore modernized!

Hi Folks,
In a silent move, the RCAHMS switched to a state-of-the-art update of the good old Canmore database on 11th March 2009.
It really looks much better and there are obvious advantages over the old format like direct access instead of a log-in procedure.
But the best things are yet to come:
“Further Canmore developments are being prepared, and from May, you will be able to make your own contributions to the database – a first for any Scottish national collection – including adding text and images through Flickr. You will also be able to customise Canmore to reflect your own requirements with a new ‘myCanmore’ facility, set up RSS feeds and link into social networking sites.”
Now that sounds really great; “myCanmore”, no need for grumbling about (type) errors anymore!
For those of you wrestling with the Canmap feature: that is still what it was but maybe it will be updated too. Hope so!
Congrats for the RCAHMS for this big leap forwards towards a virtual museum of Scotland’s (pre-) History.
Here’s the link to the NEW CANMORE DATABASE, guys, enjoy:
Cheers,
Jan

Anglesey RA Project

Hi Folks,

Adam Stanford provided the details of the Anglesey Rock-Art Project Field School and Excavation, held on 18th – 22nd June 2009.

Among others, the Llwydiarth Esgob Stone (click thumb-nail below) will be explored in full.

Click this link for all the information.

Adam also announced the new website about Rock Art in Wales. Congrats!

Cheers,

Jan

New Book

Image and Audience: Rethinking Prehistoric Art

by Richard Bradley

There have been many accounts of prehistoric ‘art’, but nearly all of them begin by assuming that the concept is a useful one. In this extensively illustrated study, Richard Bradley asks why ancient objects were created and when and how they were used. He considers how the first definitions of prehistoric artworks were made, and the ways in which they might be related to practices in the visual arts today. Extended case studies of two immensely popular and much-visited sites illustrate his argument: one considers the megalithic tombs of Western Europe, whilst the other investigates the decorated metalwork and rock carvings of Bronze Age Scandinavia.

http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780199533855

At £50 it’s a bit pricey, lets hope there’s a paperback version.