Cheers Baz, It would have seemed crazy if they weren't. I dunno where I got that idea from.

I notice they're carved on 'Andesitic tuff' which, if it's related to the andesite in the cheviots, must be pretty damned hard stuff, as the comments above regarding the durability of the carvings suggest.

I still think there should be some kind of sign though. If there are people visiting it to climb, who don't know about the carvings, it seems to make sense that they should be told, no matter how small the chances of damage.

Like the nicely anachronistic sign at Lordenshaw, by the good old ministry of works. I think the old argument of not drawing attention to carvings doesn't count in this case, as the site is already being visited for reasons other than to look at the art. Surely it doesn't take years to put a sign up.