Prehistoric rock art 315m NNW of Wellhope

Summary

A rock art panel bearing a complex of motifs of Neolithic/early Bronze Age date.

Reasons for Designation

The prehistoric rock art near Wellhope is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Survival: despite susceptibility to natural weathering, this rock art panel is reasonably well preserved with the survival of relatively well-defined motifs including an example of surface preparation;
* Documentation: ritual and religious sites of Prehistoric Britain are without contemporary documentation and hence the value of the archaeological remains as our only evidence of their belief systems is enhanced;
* Diversity: this panel displays a complex arrangement of a variety of motifs; of particular significance are the large number of individual cups scattered across the panel surface and clustering on its western side;
* Potential: it will inform our knowledge of prehistoric society through individual study of its motifs and carving style, and through an increased understanding of the circumstances in which rock art was created and used;
* Group value: taken with other extensive areas of rock art near by at Snook Bank and Millstone Burn, it will enhance both our understanding of the inter-relationships between the 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.

This prehistoric rock art panel was discovered in 1999 and was re-surveyed by Northumberland and Durham Rock Art Project (NADRAP).

Details

Description: the panel (ERA 576) is located on level ground on the eastern edge of a forest ride on one of the highest parts of the Fell Sandstone Group. The panel measures 1.7m by 2.6m and slopes gently from the east to the quarried western side. The main motif comprises a cup with a short groove surrounded by a penannular, and is thought to have been carved in a shallow circular basin; it is considered that this basin and an outer fractured area have been artificially created as surface preparation. There is also a cup with an enclosing oval groove and two cups with arcs. Up to fifty cups of varying sizes are scattered across the surface, which cluster on the western side of the panel.

Extent of Scheduling: defined as a circle with a diameter of 5m in order to include a sample of the archaeologically sensitive surrounding ground.

Sources

Websites
England's Rock Art, accessed from http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/era/section/panel/overview.jsf?eraId=576

Other
Northumberland County Council HER: ID 4255,

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