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Rock Art of South Leinster — RSAI talk

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bawn79 B
bawn79 Oct 25, 2007 09:49:18
Replying to FourWinds

Does anyone have any tips for searching for new rock-art in an area that already is know to have rock-art?

Is there a list of things to do like time of day etc?

C CianMcLiam
CianMcLiam Oct 25, 2007 12:52:41
Replying to bawn79

The best times would be early morning or late evening (depending on the terrain etc. of course) when the low sun will cast longer shadows.

If I suspect something is there but can't be sure from looking or touching, I just flash the surface from the side and review it on the camera. I'll usually do this for any suspicious looking surfaces around an existing panel since it doesn't cost anything with digital!

It can be frustrating at times because you can often find what looks like an excellent candidate but which turns out to have nothing only for something to turn up on a more marginal surface nearby. There's no pattern that could let you judge whether a particular surface would have been chosen or not depending on the type or texture of a surface.

Prepare to spend hours staring at rock after rock!

R Rockrich
Rockrich Oct 25, 2007 14:27:20
Replying to bawn79

bawn79 wrote:
Does anyone have any tips for searching for new rock-art in an area that already is know to have rock-art?

Is there a list of things to do like time of day etc?

You’re best friend when searching for rock art is usually the topography & carving tradition. Look at the known carvings in the area & their positions in the landscape, are there any similarities i.e. positioned nr streams / springs, in valleys, on terraces, sheltered areas at the foot of inclines, on knolls / raised areas, close to other archaeological features such as cairns etc. Do the motifs appear on specific surfaces of stones i.e. vertical, flat or sloping (in some areas they only appear on surfaces that slope towards the valley), are they carved on bedrock or free standing boulders (large or small).

Doing this you’ll notice certain patterns emerge & it’ll assist in locating others.