
A second new cup and ring marked boulder near the forest boundary
A second new cup and ring marked boulder near the forest boundary
A new find; cup and ring marked boulder near the forest
Snook Bank 7d; detail
Snook Bank 7d
Snook Bank 7d
Snook Bank 6d
Snook Bank 6b; close up
Snook Bank 6b
Snook Bank 5f; portable
Snook Bank 5a; detail
Snook Bank 5a
View S towards Snook Bank farm from new find on the main ridge below Beckensall’s 7d. The remains of a round house lie in the bracken strip about 1/3 from top of the photo between the outcrop and the farm.
Close up of new find at Snook Bank.
A new find at Snook Bank. Double motif on edge of outcrop some 50m further down the ridge from Beckensall’s 7d.
The cup-marked millstone (Beckensall’s 6j); view NW towards the Cheviot Hills.
Beckensall’s 6g; cups carved onto a natural rock boss.
Beckensall’s 5d; a deeply cut panel, partly turf covered.
Beckensall’s 4a; part of the main carved panel, now highly eroded and subject to water flow
Beckensall’s 7a; view to the S.
?Romano-British round-house, W of Snook Bank farmhouse, view N towards the carved rock outcrops.
Beckensall 3b; position in the landscape – view to SW.
Beckensall’s 3b; a small boulder decorated with cup and rings and plain cups.
Beckensall’s 4a; view SW.
Beckensall’s 4bi; a large sloping outrop 7m SW of 4a with highly eroded cup and ring motifs and a long curved groove barely visible except in ideal light.
Beckensall’s 7d; view to the SW.
Beckensall’s 7d; an outcrop with multiple cup and ring motifs although much obscured by lichen.
Beckensall’s rocks 1a, 1b & 1c just NW of Snook Bank
Signs of quarrying.
Abysmal lighting and thick lichen on a rather worn CnR. So it goes.
There are a few panels at Snook, but I only caught a couple of them,, the lighting condition were appalling, to be honest the few pics I got are a bit naff.
The rock art is in an area with a cairnfield, one of which is supposedly a ring cairn. It’s also been quite heavily quarried. It’s proximity to ‘Millstone’ Burn gives a hint as to why. It’s really an extension of the Millstone Burn site, on the east side of the burn , with excellent views out over the coastal plain of Northumberland.
The highlight of the visit was undoubtedly the opportunity to see the Northumberland Rock Art Project at work. I have nothing but respect for these dedicated folks, who are giving up their spare time to help try and make sense of these enigmatic artefacts and determine the best ways for them to be protected for the future. The attention to detail in the recording is quite frankly astounding. They are collecting vast amounts of data on the placing and condition of the carvings, as well as spotting a few new panels.
Snook Bank on BRAC Updated