Rock art on Amersidelaw, 215m ENE of Kay Hill

Summary

Prehistoric rock art comprising a large panel of Neolithic /early Bronze Age date (approximately 3800 BC to 1500 BC).

Reasons for Designation

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION:
The prehistoric rock art 215m ENE of Kay Hill is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Survival: despite their susceptibility to natural weathering, this rock art panel is reasonably well preserved and the two large motifs are clearly defined;
* Documentation: ritual and religious sites of Prehistoric Britain are without contemporary documentation, hence the value of the archaeological remains as our only evidence of their belief systems is enhanced;
* Potential: it will contribute to our knowledge of prehistoric society through study of the individual motifs and through an increased understanding of the circumstances in which rock art was created and used; its location, adjacent to an upright stone with a weathered and fluted top is considered to be significant;
* Group value: this is one of four panels identified on Amersidelaw, which taken as a group, will enhance both our understanding of the inter-relationships between individual panels, and their relationship to the wider landscape.

History

The term prehistoric rock art is most commonly applied to a specific style of carvings created in the Neolithic and early Bronze Age (approximately 3800 BC to 1500 BC). This type of carving shares a limited set of motifs, with numerous variations around the main themes, and is found throughout northern Europe in a wide range of contexts, from isolated natural outcrops to burial cairns and standing stones. The most common form of motifs are the simple ‘cup mark’ (a shallow bowl-shaped depression a few centimetres across ) and the ‘cup and ring’ (a cup mark surrounded by one or more concentric circular grooves); many carvings also incorporate or are framed within linear grooves. Other shapes and patterns such as keyholes and rosettes also occur, but are less frequent. Motifs may occur singly, in small groups, or may cover extensive areas of rock surface. The exact meaning of the designs remains unknown and a wide range of interpretations have been suggested, but they appear to be abstract and held some unknown, possibly sacred meaning for those who created and observed them. Over 5000 separate rock art sites are known in Britain of which more than half are in England and while some examples do occur further south, they are mainly confined to the upland areas of the north.

The rock art on Amersidelaw was discovered by a local shepherd and recorded by Stan Beckensall in 1982 in advance of afforestation. It was re-surveyed by The Northumberland and Durham Rock Art Project (NADRAP) between 2005 and 2008.

Details

Principal elements: rock art comprising a large panel of Neolithic/early Bronze Age date (approximately 3800 BC to 1500 BC).

Description: this is one of four separate panels on Amersidelaw, a peninsular-like projection of the main Fell Sandstone Group ridge to the west; it is roughly flat-topped with steep slopes to the north, west and south with the rock art panels found above the slopes. The ground falls away more gently to the east, before rising to the main ridge.

The panel (ERA 771) is set on area of quarried outcrop; it consists of at least two motifs: a well-defined cup and ring, and a cup and possible ring, positioned about 0.4 metres apart. The initials J P R, thought to be those of the local shepherd who discovered the carvings, are engraved into the north edge of the outcrop. About 2.3m to the north east of the there is an upright stone with a weathered, fluted top.

Extent of scheduling: circular with a diameter of 10m to enclose the full extent of the panel and the surrounding archaeologically sensitive areas including the upright stone.

Sources

Books and journals
Beckensall, S, Prehistoric Rock Motifs of Northumberland Volume 1, (1991), 51; 57
Beckensall, S, Northumberland's Prehistoric Rock Carvings: A Mystery Explained , (1983), 163-166
Mazel, et al (eds), Art as Metaphor: The Prehistoric Rock-Art of Britain, (2007)

Websites
, accessed from http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/era/section/access/results.jsf

Other
Northumberland HER ID: 3436, 3437,3438,

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