Summary
A rock art panel bearing at least ninety eight cup marks and a complex arrangement of grooves of Neolithic/early Bronze Age date in two distinct groups.
Reasons for Designation
The prehistoric rock art 150m south west of Nook End is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Survival: despite susceptibility to natural weathering, it is reasonably well preserved with the survival of large numbers of reasonably well-defined motifs;
* 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: the majority of motifs are simple cups associated with grooves and the focus on this individual motif at the expense of a wider variety of motifs contributes to its importance;
* 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;
* Rarity: this rock art panel unusually occurs on an igneous rock surface within the Lake District; it is one of only a handful so far identified in this region, which emphasises its importance;
* Group value: it is considered that the presence of rock art in Great Langdale and its peripheries might have a significant association with the important Prehistoric Langdale Pikes axe quarries, towards which location this panel commands extensive views.
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.
Details
PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS: a rock art panel bearing at least ninety eight cup marks and a complex arrangement of grooves of Neolithic/early Bronze Age date in two distinct groups.
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
