Image credit: Mike Purslow
Images
Image credit: Mike Purslow
Image credit: Mike Purslow
Image credit: Mike Purslow
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
Image credit: Chris Bickerton
02/05/2016 – The size of this main panel really surprised me when I got there. So much to see. Magic.
02/05/2016 – You got to love that groove.
Carvings are still there. Checked them yesterday (24/03/14) on the way to Ketley.
Image credit: IH
Some experimental faffing about with LEDs. I’m still not sure exactly what is the best way to mix this kind of light painting with rock art.
Straight out of the camera, no post processing other than to resize.
Image credit: Ian Hobson
Mucking about with long exposures and handheld lights to try and pick out the motifs.
Image credit: Ian Hobson
Late night/early morning doing some long exposure stuff with sidelighting to try and bring out the carvings.
Image credit: Ian Hobson
Cow pat has bleached a patch in the middle of the main motif.
Image credit: IH
This is a photograph straight from the camera. No photoshopping or anything. Just a lot of faffing about with flash units and stencils and lens caps. Unfortunately there aren’t actually any ghostly light sculptures of prehistoric CnRs in my kitchen.
(Though there is a modern CnR sealed behind the kitchen wall units to the left of the image)
A higher res version can be found here
Image credit: IH
Carved outcrop inside Chatton Law Camp (Iron Age hillfort)
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1 – the classic view
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1 – stitched from 6 images
Image credit: Rockandy
Image credit: IH
Image credit: IH
(After Beckensall, 2001)
Image credit: IH
Backlit carved translucent soapstone pendant.
Image credit: IH
Chatton 3 – second, highly-eroded cup and ring
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 3 – faint ringed motif. Is that another cup to its right?
Image credit: Rockandy
The ‘blank canvas’ that is Chatton 3.
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1c – an array of ‘midget cups’ on outcrop N of main panel
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – faint, multi-ringed pair of motifs SE of main crack
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – detail of carved graffiti
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – close-up of faint double-ringed motif to N of main carved area. New find by N&DRAP recording team.
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – faint double-ringed motif (in foreground) to N of main carved area. New find by N&DRAP recording team.
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – oh boy, I could stay here all day.
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – detail. Crevasse warning!
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – in near perfect natural lighting. Scatter my ashes here!
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – ok it’s a duplicate image but first time for me in such good light. So good here I didn’t even cross the northerly fence (but then I am afraid of cows).
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – exactly same shot as rockartuk in 2003. 5 years latter and still as good in late October sun-light.
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – main crack is now free of turf. Dominos anyone?
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – main motif. OK it’s a duplicate but you could post this every day for a year and it would still be a stunner.
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – see Greywether December 2003. B&W into the sun shot.
Image credit: Rockandy
Chatton 1a – what a beautifully made motif! Ever had the feeling you are just following Hob round these sites?
Image credit: Rockandy
Image credit: © Brian Kerr 2007
Image credit: © Brian Kerr 2007
Image credit: © Brian Kerr 2007
Chatton Moor, from ‘Incised Markings on Stone’, 1869
Image credit: J Collingwood Bruce
As seen in ‘Inscribed Rocks...’ 1865.
Image credit: J Collingwood Bruce
From The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Volume 6 (1864-5), Appendix.
Image credit: Sir James Simpson
Circa 1859
There’s quite a bit of artistic license going on here.
Image credit: Mr George Tate
1863
Image credit: J Collingwood bruce
1859
Image credit: Mr George Tate
Image credit: IH
Image credit: IH
18-10-05
Panel 5, looking over to the main white panels
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Image credit: pebblethief
18/9/05
panel 7
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
panel 7
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
panel 5
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
panel 5
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
panel 5
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
panel 5
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
panel 5
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
does that look like a human figure?...
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
Image credit: Brian
18/9/05
what is this?...i know what it looks like, but some help please?..
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
18/9/05
Image credit: Brian "Blokey" Kerr
Image credit: IH
Chatton 5: An unusual motif, with it’s gapped ring and it’s position on a vertical surface.
Image credit: IH
Chatton 5, horizontal surface
Image credit: IH
Chatton 5, with the area of the main panel just visible to the upper left.
Image credit: IH
Ripples on water, concentric circles in liquid and in stone.
Image credit: IH
Image credit: IH
The large Chatton panel.
Showing the natural basin and the channel which snakes across the rock dividing the large circular motifs from the smaller motifs and the ‘domino cups’. Stan reckons that this large natural channel has been enhanced.
50p coin for scale.
Image credit: Pebblethief
The large cup and ring mark (with a 50p coin just to the right for scale)
7-12-03
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Image credit: Pebblethief
7-12-03.
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Image credit: Pebblethief
08/03.
08/03. NU 0723 2939. Inside the enclosure on the hilltop.
08/03 NU 07390 29244
08/03.
Taken just afer a shower of rain (and more on the way!)
25-5-03
.o0O0o.
Image credit: Pebblethief
23-4-03. misty spring evening looking west.
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Image credit: Pebblethief
23-4-03.
Image credit: Pebblethief
23-4-03. Evidence that perhaps the farmer isn’t keeping the cows off after all!!
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Image credit: Pebblethief
23-4-03. view to the south-east, towards the black shed next to the lay-by and access stile.
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Image credit: Pebblethief
Ancient rock art in perfect balance with the surrounding landscape. What more can you ask for?
A rainy morning on Chatton Park Hill creating the right atmosphere for deep thoughts!
Someone had kindly removed the turf for me
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Image credit: Pebblethief
Panel 4 close-up. Please ignore the “cut here” marks left by quarrymen.
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Panel 4.
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Image credit: Pebblethief
Panel 2: The television!
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Image credit: Pebblethief
Panel 1with convenient grass inserts for extra footing when taking close-ups :-)
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Image credit: Pebblethief
Who needs crop circles when we’ve got rock circles?
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Image credit: Pebblethief
Chatton 1.
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Image credit: Pebblethief
Articles
Like everyone else I mainly came to see Kettley crags amazing rock art but got so much more for my money.
The parking place now has no long shed at all, black or otherwise, I also never saw any information board, but I wasn’t looking for one.
A stile leads one into the first field, there was a poor little lamb stuck under it, Eric tip toed over it then wriggled free and ran off, I joined Eric and we tramped up the hill towards a gate and another stile.
Soon enough we started coming across many rocks and stones, we looked hard, at every sheet of rock and every boulder we came across, but inbetween the car and the trig point we only found the one panel, a very poor performance, if I were a football team I would’ve lost 8-1, if I were an American president I’d have got impeached. In my defence, there’s very little rock art any where near where I live, so i’m more used to looking for big stones, circle and cairns, some of the carvings are quite worn, the light was very bright and not conducive to viewing faint carvings, I cant believe that one myself, either way the big white rock sheet was the only one I found, out of maybe a dozen, very poor. I did find a hillfort no else seems to care about though.
02/05/2016 – Sometimes when I’ve read about a site and seen the photos, if the place is as good as Kettley Crag it’s hard to actually believe it exists and that I was there, walking up Chattonpark Hill with the rock shelter just on the other side, a few minutes walk away. It doesn’t get much better than Kettley Crag with its floor covered in the most wonderful rock art.
First things first, I had to get past the rock art on the south side of the hill. Easy parking in the layby and good access straight onto the hill. There’s rocks everywhere. The simple action of walking a hillside, having a nosey at each new rock we came across for any trace of markings is one of pure joy. Still happy just thinking about it again today. What a wonderful afternoon.
The pull of Kettley Crag proved too strong, so we made the walk over the top to the north side. It felt too soon. The Rock Shelter is quite magical and I hadn’t realised how good its location and view of the landscape was going to be. Wonderful markings.
After a while we strolled back to the Chatton rocks again. This time just sitting by the largest panel and trying to take in all we had seen. The sunshine was in and out of the clouds, making the markings on the main panel seem to nearly disappear then magically reappear again to surprise us once more. Again the views from here are too good. The Cheviots in full view.
Finally it was time to go. I came to see Kettley Crag but in the end this main panel at Chatton stole a little bit of our hearts. Perfect day.
This has to be up as a contender for the title of ‘rock art with the best view’. It really is in an excellent spot, with the big end of the cheviots arranged directly in front of you, leaving no doubt as to why this spot was chosen to be marked. I was particularly pleased on a recent visit to be able to confirm that the allegedly sacred hill of Simonside is also visible, which is unusual for this end of Northumberland.
What Fitzcoraldo says below about the ghostly appearance of the carvings is spot on, they do have an eldritch quality about them, an effect which is most pronounced in strong sunlight. At times, it’s possible to ook from angles that the motifs almost vanish into the quartzy glistening white surface of the outcrop. At other times, in different lighting conditions, they can appear totally different, and the surface of the outcrop looks much darker, and reflected light can pick the pattern out superbly.
You’d think that they’d be at their finest at sunset, but I found that the trees can cast annoying shadows which prevented the motifs from being highlighted as well as I’d hoped. Pah! One of these days I shall manage to get a good photo which shows the carvings and the view. It’d be great to spend a year or so standing over this outcrop watching it intently as it’s appearance shifts.
The panel Stubob speaks of at the top of the hill is one of the best examples of fresh pick marks, possibly evenmore so that the hidden motif at North Plantation. According to the Beckensall Archive, these fresh picks have been designated ‘Chatton 13’ (with only a 2m difference in the 10 digit refs, good going eh?!).
Whilst it seems a shame to expose such fresh cup marks to the ravages of the elements, they should provide a good indicator of the rate at which the stone hereabouts erodes. This in turn may help in attempts to ascertain the best preservation strategies for what remains of the area’s prehistoric rock art. Maybe.
Chatton 4 is in the middle of a little hillfort, (or a settlement with high banks), this is a lump of stone with carvings. It’s more or less in the middle of the earthworks, and it’s difficult to think that the builders of the earthworks were unaware of the carvings.
The cup and ring on the top of the slab are considerably more worn looking than the ones on the side. It’s tempting to think that this may have been because they were used in some way by the Iron Age (?) folk who built the earthworks. It’s definitely not just the results of natural weathering, more the kind of thing you’d get after years of people running their fingers over the motif. At least to my mind, but admittedly, I am just making this up as I go along
The panel to the east that Pebbles speaks of is that designated ‘Chatton 5’ by the Archive, and has an unusual little motif, both in it’s form and it’s position on a vertical surface.
One last thing to say about Chatton, it can be an infuriating place. There is so much that leaves nagging questions which will never be answered. There are maybe-cairns, maybe-cups, maybe-burnt mounds, traces of maybe-houses. Combine these maybes with the general mystery of the meanings of the motifs, add a strong sense that quarrying and erosion may have caused the loss of some carvings, and this is a place that needs to be pondered in depth.
We came up to Chatton with Pebbles acting as our guide.
It’s a lovely drive up to the moor. We parked up at the large, no longer black, shed and tried to ignore what we thought may have been a corpse in the car next to us – don’t get involved!
After mooching up the hill past some industrial sized clearence cairns we hit the panels...JEEZUS!!
To be honest, I had viewed Chatton as ‘somewhere on the way to Ketley’. Just shows how wrong you can be.
The rock is a ghostly whiteish grey shot through with iron staining. The carvings combined with the colour & texture of the rock give the panel a strange meglithic ‘shroud of turin’ vibe, wierd I know but that’s what I felt.
This was a special place, the circles the dominos, the bizarre Television set carving...too much.
We finally dragged ourselves away and set off towards Ketley but Chatton hadn’t quite finished with us yet. The next panel we came to was Stubobs pecked rock with its lovely pecked grooves and cups followed by the enclosure and Stans ‘occulus’ with it’s strange ziggy-zaggy groove.
Chatton is a beautiful place. The landscape has been knocked about a bit over the centuries but it still manages to retain it’s power.
I’m not an expert in rock art matters.....
But...as you leave the ‘main panel’ and head uphill toward the trig point, not heading for the stile though, go to its left. Just before the fence is a cup marked stone with fresh looking peck-marks.
NU 07390 29244.
Chatton Hill has become a DEFRA conservation area, so if you park at the black shed there is a new small information board and directions.
I recommend sticking to the path where possible – the surrounding area has been quarried and the going is a bit extreme on the ankles, and there’s a few deep holes so don’t walk and look at the map at the same time :-)
The first panel is on your left as you go up, with the “TV” panel not far away. Another large outcrop is situated right inside the “settlement” earthworks, and more to the east (which I missed this time, gives me an excuse to go back!)
Keep going over the hill & down to the right to find Kettley Crag, you won’t regret it.
Back at the car I spoke to some visitors checking out the new board – probably due to a mention in the local rag.
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Chatton on BRAC Updated
As the 720 pixel resolution does the view from chatton no justice here’s the view writ large.
Strobey, blurry, moving pictures of the carvings in the dark.
2Mb file.
“A short walk around Chatton through open countryside, fields and farmland.”
A 2 page pdf guide outlining public access to the Rock Art, as part of DEFRA’s Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
The pics on BRAC are in sequence of the site numbers (1a-16)
Sites within 20km of Chatton
-
Chatton Camp
photo 15description 1 -
Kettley Stone
photo 9forum 1description 3link 1 -
Kettley Crag
photo 54forum 2description 5link 4 -
Kettley Crag – lower outcrop
photo 1 -
Amerside Law north
photo 4description 2 -
Lyham Moor
description 1link 2 -
Whinny Hill
photo 14description 1link 1 -
Amerside Law
photo 10forum 2description 3link 4 -
Millstone Hill
photo 2description 1link 2 -
Whitehill Head
photo 2description 1 -
The Bowden Doors
photo 7description 2link 2 -
Ox Eye
photo 3description 1 -
Ros Castle
photo 21description 4link 1 -
Hepburn Crags Camp
photo 10description 1 -
Hazelrigg
description 1link 1 -
Lucker Moor
photo 3 -
Fowberry Mains
photo 20description 1link 2 -
Weetwood 8
photo 3link 2 -
Hepburn Moor
photo 5 -
Berthele’s Stone
photo 2forum 1description 1 -
Clavering
photo 2 -
Weetwood Moor
photo 76forum 3description 6link 4 -
Fowberry Moor Farm Stone
photo 2description 1 -
Fowberry Enclosure 3
photo 3description 1link 2 -
Fowberry Enclosure 1&2
photo 8description 1link 2 -
Fowberry Moor Stone-3
link 1 -
North Plantation
photo 8description 1link 2 -
Hurl Stone
photo 5description 6 -
Fowberry Cairn
photo 17description 3link 2 -
Newtown Mill
photo 11description 4 -
Isabella’s Mount
link 1 -
West Horton
photo 9link 1 -
Way to Wooler
-
Whitsunbank 2
photo 14description 2link 1 -
Whitsunbank 3
photo 4description 1link 2 -
Whitsunbank 1
photo 6description 1link 1 -
Buttony
photo 41forum 2description 3link 2 -
Weetwood North
photo 2description 1 -
St Cuthbert’s Cave (Cockenheugh)
photo 5description 1 -
Cateran Hill
photo 6description 5link 1 -
Coldmartin Loughs 1-2
photo 28description 2link 1 -
Gled Law
photo 27description 2link 2 -
Blawearie Cairn
photo 43description 5link 1 -
Doddington Stone Circle
photo 24forum 1description 5 -
Gled Law North
photo 13description 2 -
The Ringses
photo 37description 2link 1 -
Doddington Enclosure
photo 6description 2 -
Wandylaw
photo 7 -
The Ringses Hillfort
photo 2 -
Doddington Moor Quarry Site
photo 15description 3 -
Old Bewick Cairn
photo 8 -
Dod Law
photo 11 -
Old Bewick
photo 81forum 1description 10link 3 -
Kippy Heugh
link 1 -
Cuddy’s Cave (Doddington)
photo 6description 3 -
Dod Law Main
photo 28description 1link 2 -
Old Bewick Hillfort
photo 26description 2link 1 -
Tick Law
photo 8description 1 -
Doddington Dubious Stone
photo 2description 1 -
Dod Law Hillfort rock art
photo 20description 2 -
Hare Law Crags
photo 13description 2link 1 -
Doddington North
photo 10link 1 -
Harehope Hill
photo 1description 2 -
West Horton 6 c
photo 2link 1 -
High Chesters
photo 5description 1link 3 -
Doddington North Moor
photo 3description 1 -
Pin Well /
King’s Chair photo 4forum 1description 3 -
Spindlestone Heughs
description 1 -
Highburn House
photo 4description 1link 2 -
The Kettles
photo 3description 2 -
Green Castle
photo 3description 2link 1 -
Percy’s Leap
forum 1description 1 -
Kyloe Camp
description 1 -
Charlton Burn
link 1 -
Ringses Camp, Beanley Moor
photo 18description 2link 1 -
Middleton Dean
photo 8 -
Battlestone (Humbleton)
photo 3description 6 -
Middleton Dean cairn
photo 4 -
Heddon Hill
photo 2description 1link 1 -
South Middleton Moor
photo 2 -
Heddon Moor cairn
photo 4 -
Humbleton Hill
photo 7forum 2description 2 -
Hart Heugh
description 1link 1 -
Hart Heugh
description 1link 1 -
Heddon Moor
photo 10 -
Beanley Plantation Settlement
photo 6forum 1description 1link 1 -
Dod Hill East
photo 7description 1 -
Harehope Hill
photo 3 -
Crag Hill
photo 7description 1link 1 -
East Linkhall
description 1 -
Dunstan Hill
photo 3description 1link 1 -
Roughting Linn
photo 81description 12link 3 -
Monday Cleugh
photo 9 -
Bamburgh Barrow
link 1 -
Roughting Linn Camp
photo 10description 1 -
West Akeld Stead
description 1 -
Ewart Park Henge
description 1 -
Powburn
photo 7description 2 -
Bamburgh Castle
photo 19 -
Dod Hill
photo 1description 1 -
Glead’s Cleugh
photo 8 -
Hunterheugh North East
photo 6description 1 -
Goatscrag
photo 14forum 1description 1link 1 -
Heddon Hill
photo 1description 2 -
Hunterheugh 6
photo 8 -
Hunterheugh East
photo 3description 1 -
Hunterheugh 2 and 3
photo 12description 1 -
Titlington Mount
photo 10description 1link 2 -
Hunterheugh 8 and 9
photo 10 -
Hunterheugh 4 and 5
photo 5description 1 -
Hunterheugh 1
photo 38forum 1description 1link 3 -
Broomridge
photo 31description 4link 2 -
Threestone Burn
photo 15description 6 -
Honey Hill
photo 4description 1link 1 -
East Marleyknowe
photo 1 -
White House Folly Hill
photo 18forum 1description 2link 4 -
Coupland Henge
description 2 -
Blackchester
photo 7 -
Maelmin Henge Reconstruction
photo 10description 4link 2 -
Midstead
photo 19description 2link 3 -
Battle Stone (Yeavering)
photo 6description 3 -
Ford Henge
description 1 -
Bunkerhill Plantation
photo 6description 1 -
Ellsnook
photo 4description 1link 2 -
Yeavering Bell
photo 28forum 1description 8link 2 -
Gefrin
photo 2description 3link 1 -
Old Yeavering
photo 1description 1 -
Milfield North
description 1 -
Heifer Law
photo 6forum 1description 2link 1 -
Lindisfarne
photo 5forum 2description 1 -
West Brizlee
description 1link 1 -
Chester Cottage Settlement
description 1link 1 -
Benthall Cairn (Beadnell)
photo 5link 1 -
Hedgehope
photo 5description 1 -
West Brizlee (South)
description 1link 1 -
Flodden Camp
photo 1description 1 -
Blackbog Dean
photo 6description 1link 2 -
The Bell
photo 1 -
Broomwood Camp
description 1link 2 -
Hethpool
photo 19description 3 -
Hethpool cairn
photo 3 -
The Cheviot
photo 3description 2 -
Little Hetha
photo 9 -
Lamp Hill
photo 7description 2link 1 -
Lemmington Wood
photo 11description 3link 2 -
Great Hetha Camp
photo 5description 1 -
Scrog Hill
-
Harlaw Hill 2
description 1link 1 -
Cocklawburn Beach Rings
photo 5description 4 -
Castle Hill (Callaly)
description 2 -
Howick Hall
link 1 -
Dunstanburgh Castle
photo 16description 1 -
Harlaw Hill
link 1 -
Camp Hill (Alnwick)
description 1 -
Corby’s Bridge Enclosure
description 1link 1