Sites in Northumberland

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Images

Image of Northumberland (County) by Hob

Wallsend Park grass cuttings.

I’ve got this CnR thing real bad. Maybe there’s some liniment or something...

Image credit: Prehistoric Flymo
Image of Northumberland (County) by fitzcoraldo

The Milfield Plain from Yeavering Bell showing the location of two of the henges. These henges can be plainly seen as crop marks (or at least they could if I was a better photographer with better kit).

Image of Northumberland (County) by moey

Land Of The Hillforts.
Each of the hills pictured has the remains of a hillfort at its’ summit. Yeavering Bell is particularly impressive from the air.

Image of Northumberland (County) by moey

A View of The Milfield Plain from Humbleton Hill Fort. The hills to the left house many hillforts, The ancient town of Gefrin lies at the foot of these.
Milfield & its Henges stretch right from there. In the distance Duddo Five stones lies. Heading towards the right lies Routing Linn with its famous carved rocky outcrop. Rising up from the other side of the vally lie Doddington, Weetwood Moor & Fowberry with their Rock Carvings. Far right on the picture would be Green Castle lying above the village of Wooler.

Articles

National recognition for Northumberland ancient history

From The Journal online:

Seventeen of the mysterious cup and ring carvings in Northumberland have been scheduled as Ancient Monuments by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport following advice from English Heritage.

Examples in the North East of some of the earliest art in Britain have won national recognition.
Seventeen of the mysterious cup and ring carvings in Northumberland have been scheduled as Ancient Monuments by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport following advice from English Heritage, drawing on the work of volunteers in the region.
At Ketley Crag, near Chatton, the stone base of a rock shelter has been extensively carved with a complex and fluid range of motifs, complete with well preserved pick marks made by the instrument used to make the carvings.
Some of the other rock art sites added to the National Heritage List for England are a panel at Whitsunbank and a group of panels in Buttony, near Doddington Moor, displaying a variety of carvings ranging from cups and rings to the more unusual circular grooves and rosette forms.

The artivle also displays also a top notch photo of Ketley Crag by TMA’s Rockartwolf and a shot of Stan The Man to whom the vast majority of the credit for this good news must go.

Full article here

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Low Hauxley dig reveals evidence of ancient tsunami

Evidence has been uncovered of a huge tsunami, which cut Britain off from the rest of Europe 8,000 years ago.

Excavations at Low Hauxley, near Druridge Bay in Northumberland, have unearthed material, which experts say, was deposited by the giant tidal wave.

The dig is part of a £300,000 project investigating a Bronze Age burial mound – or cairn.

Lead archaeologist, Dr Clive Waddington, described the site as a “staggering find”.

During the Mesolithic period – in about 6,100 BC – Britain broke free of mainland Europe for good, after landslides in Norway triggered a huge tsunami.

The water struck the north-east of Britain and travelled 25 miles (40km) inland, turning low-lying plains into what is now the North Sea.

‘Catastrophic event‘

Dr Waddington said the Low Hauxley site was the most southerly point on the British Isles where evidence of the tsunami had been found.

He said: “The deposits we have found are in a gravel-type layer with quite large blocks of stone dating back about 8,000 years.

“This material was dumped by the sea in what was a catastrophic event at the time.

Dr Clive Waddington Dr Clive Waddington said the site was a “staggering find”
“We hope this discovery will flesh out the story of how Britain became an island as well as tell us about what the environment was like at that time here in Druridge Bay.”

The project is a partnership between the Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Derbyshire-based Archaeological Research Services Ltd (ARS), with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Philippa Cockburn, of ARS said the deposits amounted to “impressive new evidence” of how Britain was formed.

She said: “The deposits are in the form of water-rounded pebbles and rocks which are below Mesolithic soil at Low Hauxley.

“The soil contains thousands of flint tools which, based on their shape and method of manufacture, date to around 6,000 BC. This means that the tsunami debris situated below it must date to immediately before this period.

“Prior to this event, Britain was connected from an area around the Wash over to the low countries. But due to the effect of the tsunami in combination with rising sea levels, Britain became an island.”

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-23779202

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Rock art Meeting – Northumberland (RAM 2011)

This years RAM (Rock Art Meeting) has been arranged for Sunday June 5th at Lordenshaw. Northumberland.

Lordenshaw is just to the south of Rothbury in Northumberland (see a detailed map Here and then zoom out for road directions etc). There is a good sized car park (shown on map) on the minor road nearest the rock carvings and we will meet up there at 10.30AM.

This is a very informal meet so just bring the usual things like boots, waterproofs, camera and something to eat and we will see who turns up on the day. We plan to take a look at a selection of the carved rocks, cairns and the “hill fort/settlement” etc. The location of the Lordenshaw carved rocks on the ridge leading up towards Simonside Hill (defined as a sacred hill on TMA) might us give some food for thought.

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Update

Some readers will be aware that Jan Brouwer passed away on the 25th April 2011, after suffering a serious illness. It was Jan who established the annual rock art meetings as a result of his deep interest in British prehistoric rock carvings. This interest led to regular field trips from his native Holland in order to study the carvings first hand and these visits also created the opportunity for people to meet up with Jan and take a look at some of the rock carvings in a particular location.

Obviously things have changed with Jan’s passing and it would be easy just to cancel this years RAM given the circumstances. However Jan indicated that he would like the RAM to go ahead and picked out a photo to go with the RAM details posted on his British rock art Blog (link). So a few of us will still be meeting up at Lordenshaw on June 5th, to remember Jan and take a look at some of the ancient rock carvings that so fascinated him.

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Ancient rock carvings discovered.

More than 100 new examples of prehistoric art have been discovered carved into boulders and open bedrock throughout Northumberland and Durham.

The 5,000-year-old Neolithic carvings of circles, rings and hollowed cups, were uncovered by volunteers.

One of the most interesting discoveries was an elaborately carved panel on Barningham Moor, near Barnard Castle in County Durham.

English Heritage now wants to extend the project to Cumbria.

Kate Wilson, inspector of ancient monuments at English Heritage, said: “We know virtually nothing about this art. That’s the exciting part of this discovery.

“What we need to do now is to discover how this art relates to other prehistoric features in the landscape.

“We are talking about very simple and abstract art, using circles, lines and triangles. Mostly the designs are pecked into stone in the shape of simple cups and rings.”

Archaeologists have discovered thousands of examples of prehistoric rock carvings in the area in recent years.

Many feature on a website backed by Newcastle University, which includes about 6,000 images.

Ms Wilson added: “We are sure there remains a lot that is still undiscovered in Cumbria.”

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7534510.stm

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High tides unearth burial mystery of bronze age child

High tides and winds that have battered our shores have unearthed a burial mystery for archaeologists.

Erosion by the sea and weather has revealed what seems to be the remains of a Bronze Age child.

But what puzzled archaeologists was a layer of hard white material which appears to have been moulded around the body, like a casing.

More at the following link....

dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=493609&in_page_id=1770&ito=newsnow

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Durham County Council’s Archaeology Department 3rd Annual Conference

Saturday 10 March 2007, 9:50am-4.30pm
Durham County Council’s Archaeology Department will be holding its 3rd Annual Conference. The day will offer talks on recent archaeological discoveries, community excavations, recording and research. There will be talks on the following subjects:
• Hannah Wiggens, Durham County Council – County Durham Historic Landscape Characterisation project
• David Mason, Durham County Council – The Peter Scott excavations at Piercebridge Roman Fort
• Martin Roberts, English Heritage – Middridge Grange – historic farm building and Grade 1 listed building
• Richard Annis, Archaeological Serives Durham University – Excavations at East Park Sedgefield 2006
• Richard Hewitt, Archaeological Research Services – Archaeological Assessment of the aggregate producing areas of the County Durham Magnesium Limestone plateau
• Robin Taylor-Wilson, Pre-Construct Archaeology – Roman Chester-le-Street
• David Butler, Local Historian – Aykley Heads House, Durham
Tickets must be purchased in advance and are now on sale. Tickets cost £8.50 (the cost has increased slightly this year due to increases in catering costs) and will include a buffet lunch and tea and coffee in the morning and afternoon. There will be stalls in the Durham Room during the morning tea break and lunch which will include local historical and archaeological societies as well as bookstalls.

durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/pws/Archaeology+2001+-+Archaeology+News+and+Events

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Rock Art Meeting 2006

” The 2006 Rock Art Meeting (RAM’06) is sheduled for
Sunday 4th of June 2006 in Wooler, Northumberland

You are most welcome to take part in this meeting. Bring camera’s, childern, wellies, lunch packet, water and good weather! After coffees between 10.30 and 11.00 AM at ‘The Mother of all B&B’s’; Weetwood Farm Guesthouse, West Weetwood, Wooler NE71 6AQ, phone: 01668 281497 (see: map) we’ve planned to visit the rock art sites of Gled Law, Buttony and West Horton and maybe a surprise site as dessert.”

groups.msn.com/RockArtintheBritishLandscape/rameetings.msnw

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Excitement at Neolithic site find

From BBC online, Wednesday, 2 November 2005:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4399194.stm

Archaeologists have unearthed what is thought to be one of the largest Neolithic settlements in Britain. The discovery, which includes buildings, a human burial pit, tools, pottery and ritual objects, was uncovered at a Northumberland quarry.

It is hoped it will boost understanding of the period, which dates back thousands of years.

The discovery was made during routine archaeological investigation of the quarry, which is run by Tarmac.

The settlement, near Milfield Village, Northumberland, includes at least three buildings dating to the 4000 BC Early Neolithic period and three buildings from the 3000 BC Later Neolithic period.

Archaeologists said the find was highly important because remains of buildings are rarely found on Neolithic settlements in England.

Dr Jonathan Last, from English Heritage, said: “To find the remains of so many buildings from the Neolithic period grouped together is incredibly important.

“This exciting discovery offers huge potential to improve our understanding of Neolithic ways of life in the north-east of England.

“We hope that analysis and scientific dating of finds from the site will reveal much more about the date and function of these structures and establish whether they were homes or ceremonial buildings.”

The remains have been found over an area the size of two football pitches.

Archaeological site director Dr Clive Waddington said: “This is one of the most important sites of its kind to be discovered.

“It provides an exciting opportunity to further understanding of Britain first farmers, their way of life and beliefs about the world.”

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Volunteers needed to record rock art

Rock Art project officer Tertia Barnett said: “It is
fascinating work and we are uncovering more all the time. Help from volunteers has been invaluable so far and we are looking to recruit more.”

The one-day training programme is at County Hall, Morpeth on October 21 and anyone interested is asked to contact Tertia on (01670) 533076 or [email protected]

The volunteers will be working in small teams using a range of methods to document the rock art, including a ground-breaking 3D technique developed for the project by English Heritage that will allow the carvings to be viewed and studied in great detail.

from Berwick Today
berwicktoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=970&ArticleID=1196540

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Laser Scans for Northumbrian Rock Art

Examples of rock art are to be recorded with ‘3D laser scanning’ as part of the Northumberland and Durham rock art project. This is being funded and co-ordinated by the two county councils and English Heritage.

The project’s main aim is to develop new and undamaging approaches to recording and conserving rock art.

Rock Art project officer Tertia Barnett said: “Laser scanning has been used to record only a handful of prehistoric carvings and this will be the largest number of carved panels scanned by one project.

“The scanner sends a laser beam across the rock and records very small changes in the surface. Changes of less than 0.5mm (0.02in) can be captured and recorded as digital data on a computer and used to create extremely accurate three-dimensional reconstructions of the rock surface and carvings.”

She said the technique would not damage the rock surface.

“It’s a powerful tool for conserving rock art and it allows us to look in detail at things such as the techniques used to make the prehistoric carvings and subtle changes in the rock structure where it might have been eroded or damaged”, she said.

“This will help us assess how to protect the carvings from further decay.”

Computer generated reconstructions can also be manipulated to create 3D animations for museum displays and exhibitions.

Northumberland and Durham have more than 1,000 examples of rock art and the project aims to compile a complete record.

from the BBC article at
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4125078.stm

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Ancient Rock Carvings go Online

From an article published on the BBC News web site on 14th January 2005:

Archaeologists have discovered more than 250 new examples of prehistoric rock carvings, it has been revealed.

The panels were unearthed during a two-and-a-half year search of the moorlands of Northumberland by Newcastle University archaeologists.

They will feature on a new website featuring 6,000 images, which is thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind in the world.

The carvings are thought to have been made between 3,500 and 6,000 years ago.

Among the new discoveries is a collection at Goatstones, near Wark, where 14 carved stones were recorded for the first time.

Read the full article...

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Modern Art – Ancient Inspiration

From an article by David Prudames, published on www.24hourmuseum.org.uk on 19th November 2004:

Written in Stone?, on show at the Museum of Antiquities in Newcastle until January 8 2005, presents a series of colourful contemporary cast glass sculptures on display alongside fragments of ancient rock carvings.

Taking their inspiration from their Northumbrian ancestors, the modern work was created by a group of young people from Greenfield School, Newton Aycliffe.

“This is a really unusual project which has reaped enormous benefits, both for the schoolchildren and for the museum,” explained Lindsay Allason-Jones, Director of Archaeological Museums at Newcastle University.

“We jumped at the opportunity to get involved, because we saw this as a way of engaging people all around the region with our collections, and it has also enabled us to creatively display this exciting new work alongside our existing exhibits, giving them a new dimension too.”

Read the full article...

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Sunderland Bronze Age Settlement Uncovered

Archaeologists have described the finds of the Bronze Age community on the former Vaux Brewery site in the city centre as “significant”.

The dig was carried out as part of pre-development work on the site . Robin Taylor-Wilson, project manager at the Durham branch of Pre-Construct Archaeology, said : “It was totally unexpected to find evidence of a hitherto unknown Bronze Age settlement here.”

It was impossible to say its exact size at the moment, but Mr Taylor-Wilson said evidence suggested a wooden wall with houses inside it.
Archaeologists found pieces of pottery that would have been used as drinking vessels, flint used as tools and worked bone.
“One piece of bone looks a bit like a Polo and it is possible it was neck decoration or personal adornment, possibly a pendant.”
Burnt and charred seeds were found on the site and were dated as coming from between 2,480 and 2,280 BC. The seeds were hazelnuts which could have formed part of an early Wearside diet, or perhaps be from natural or man-made forest fires along the riverside.

“The evidence that we have found shows that there was quite a sophisticated society on the banks of the Wear with some socio-economic activity and a social hierarchy. They are significant finds,” said Mr Taylor-Wilson.
He said because of the landscape features, and being next to the river, the commanding spur of the Vaux site was an ideal place for pre-historic Britons.

complete story at Sunderland Today
sunderlandtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1107&ArticleID=847454

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3,000 Year Old Gold Earing Found at Driffield

Gold earring found buried under a few inches of soil in a ploughed field in East Yorkshire could be more than 3,000 years old.

A metal detector enthusiast, part of a group from Durham, stumbled across the treasure near Driffield last year.
The late Bronze Age ring has narrow stripes of yellow and paler gold and when analysed by experts at the British Museum was found to be 73 per cent gold and 23 per cent silver. Tests showed that the precious metals covered a hoop of base metal.
Weighing just 10gms, it was dated between 1150BC and 750BC.
There is no idea yet of the value, which will be settled next month by an independent valuation committee. Both the British Museum and local museums will be given the first chance to bid.
An inquest in Hull heard the earring was found by Gary Turnbull in around six inches of soil.
Yesterday, after the ring was declared treasure, the landowner said she hoped it would go to a local museum.
The farmer, who asked not to be named, said: “These metal detectorists have been coming for a few years but this is the first thing to come to light.”

yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticleMore2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=731820&Page=1&ReturnUrl=NewsFrontMore.aspx

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Iron Age find at Business Park

Experts have uncovered evidence of Iron Age houses and pottery dating from around 100 BC at a major Tyneside development.

Residents at the Newcastle Great Park (NGP) development are learning about their Iron Age counterparts after the latest archaeological work on the site uncovered evidence of an ancient settlement.

Artefacts, described as being of significant archaeological interest, have been found since the works began over two years ago.

However this latest area to be examined has caused the most excitement.

Senior keeper of field archaeology at Tyne & Wear Museums, Steve Speak, said: “This site, which is south of the new SAGE development, has produced not only pottery, but also so-called Quern Stones, which were used to grind wheat.

“The settlement shows three phases of occupation over a period of about 75 years.

“We know this because our calculations show that a house would last around 25 years before it started to deteriorate and needed to be built again.”

Drawings of the site show a large round house about 10 metres in diameter, surrounded by an enclosure which was likely to be used to keep in livestock.

Also featured are the remains of houses from previous phases of occupation along with ditches used for drainage and the disposal of waste.
Tyne and Wear’s county archaeologist is currently deciding on the scope of a full excavation of the site.

Mr Speak added: “The good thing about this area is that there has been little or no ploughing over the site which so often wipes out any archaeology under the soil.

“Any artefacts we uncover here should be of good quality and I feel we will get an informed idea of what life was like for the earliest inhabitants of Newcastle Great Park”.

link:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/3374037.stm

For those who often travel up the A1 north of Gosforth, this is right next to the new mounds that look a bit like Silbury...

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More rock art mysteries

Don’t know if this will turn out to be another misunderstanding (like this) but some strange carvings have been found near Wooler in Northumberland. Mr Beckinsall’s on the case though:
BBC News site at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/3177822.stm

Mystery markings baffle experts

Experts are scratching their heads about a series of rock markings discovered in north Northumberland.
The markings – including a heart shape and one resembling a human footprint – are being investigated by archaeologists on rocks near Wooler.

The Newcastle University team, who were alerted to the carvings by a local farm-hand, have said they are baffled as to what they mean or who created them. And fellow experts they have consulted are equally confused.

The markings found on isolated sandstone boulder, include a group of concave spherical shapes of around 20 cm in diameter. Another resembles an adult footprint, several deep scores and a heart-shaped marking. People are now being encouraged to come forward with explanations and to help solve the mystery.

Dr Aron Mazel, research associate with the School of Historical Studies, has been investigating the markings with Northumberland and international rock art authority Stan Beckensall.

Despite having over 60 years experience of studying rock art between them, they have been unable to identify what they were.

Dr Mazel said: “They are not the cup and ring marks which we have been studying as part of the Northumberland prehistoric rock art project they appear to be more recent than that.

“There have been people in the Northumberland area since the start of the Mesolithic period around 10,000 years ago, but I would think that these markings were made after cups and rings, probably during the last 3000 years.

“Until we know more about these markings it would be hard to pinpoint which era they belong to.”

Mr Beckensall said: “As far as I know, these markings are unique and nothing like them exists anywhere else in Northumberland or in the British Isles.

“That’s why we are keen to draw people’s attention to them – seeing the pictures of the markings may prompt somebody to come forward with new information, perhaps relating to similar rock art samples they have viewed elsewhere.”

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Stan Beckinsall’s Archive to go on the Internet

entertainment.scotsman.com/visual/headlines_specific.cfm?id=6882

from ‘the scotsman‘

An archive featuring the UK’s finest collection of prehistoric rock art – stone carvings thousands of years old – is to get a global showcase via what is believed to be the most detailed internet site of its kind in the world.

The website will include global positioning system readings – highly accurate positions of the artwork compiled using satellites – and digital drawings and photographs.

Northumberland is widely regarded as having the country’s richest collection of rock art, with up to 500 examples still existing in the field and written records of up to 750 panels.

Examples include England’s largest such site at Roughting Linn, just south of the Border.

Stan Beckensall, who has spent more than 30 years documenting this mysterious phenomenon, has just donated his extensive archive to the Museum of Antiquities at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. The records include photographs, books, drawings and rubbings.

In a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), the university intends to make the entire archive widely accessible via a new website which will display information at differing levels of complexity, providing a valuable research and teaching resource for academics as well as schools, heritage specialists, landowners, and tourists.

Dr Aron Mazel, an archaeologist and research associate with the School of Historical Studies at Newcastle University, who is leading the project, says the website will be the most detailed of a rock art area in the world. It is due to go live next year.

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Stan Beckinsall’s rock art archive to be made public

from icNewcastle

The huge archive built up by Stan Beckensall in decades of investigating rock art is being donated to the Museum of Antiquities at Newcastle University. Stan will be working with Aron Mazel, a researcher at the university’s school of historic studies, in creating a website so that the archive will be widely available. It includes photographs taken over 35 years, notebooks, rubbings, drawings and the books written by Stan on the subject.

“It contains every bit of information I have gathered over the years and it can now all go on the Internet,” said Stan. Stan and Aron will be revisiting and re-photographing hundreds of rock art sites in Northumberland. There are more than 600 records of rock art panels in the county. Aron said: “We want to make the material available to a wide range of people, including youngsters.
“Rock art has not been at the centre stage of archaeology and it deserves a lot more exposure. “It represents a real manifestation of human endeavour and a huge amount of time and labour was invested in its creation. We need more work on the motivation and meaning behind it and hopefully the website will encourage that.”

Recent discoveries in Cumbria are the subject of the latest book by Stan. Prehistoric Rock Art in Cumbria is published by Tempus at £16.99.
icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100local/page.cfm?objectid=12444387&method=full&siteid=50081&page=2

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Countryside Stewardship scheme protects rock art

icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100local/page.cfm?objectid=12444387&method=full&siteid=50081&page=1

From icNewcastle
By The Journal

Examples of some of the best prehistoric rock art in the world are to be protected by a Northumbrian farmer. Much of Duncan Ord’s Chatton Park Farm near Alnwick is a prehistoric landscape, which includes a hillfort and a rock overhang shelter. The farm also has several outstanding examples of mysterious rock art, consisting of cup, ring and other patterns which were carved into sandstone outcrops from 5,000 years ago. Northumberland is especially rich in rock art, which has been explored and recorded for more than 30 years by retired Hexham headteacher Stan Beckensall. He has been campaigning for the rock panels to be safeguarded from threats which include air pollution, acid rain, trampling by cattle, ploughing and quarrying. Yesterday Stan hailed a Countryside Stewardship agreement signed between Mr Ord and Defra which will see the farmer qualify for payments by looking after the ancient legacy.
The stewardship scheme provides funding to encourage traditional farming methods which can help conserve historical features, and makes provision for public access. Under his agreement Mr Ord will now keep grazing animals away from the site, and develop a trail to allow the public to appreciate the historic sites at first hand.

Mr Ord said: “Chatton Park is a marginal farm where we keep cows and sheep, as well as a small arable acreage. Our cows were traditionally wintered on the hill where the rock art is, because it offered the animals a sheltered spot whichever way the wind blew.
“But when Stan Beckensall told me how important these markings on the rocks were I was happy to change our husbandry practices. The stewardship agreement is giving me the support I need to do that.”
Stan said: “The rock art at Chatton is first class – some of the finest in the world. Duncan Ord’s stewardship scheme is an important step forward in preserving the rock art and bringing it to a wider audience. “Developments like stewardship are good because it is a recognition that the rock art is important. This is part of what I have been wanting to happen for a long, long time.
“The farm is part of prime rock art country and the landscape definitely has a presence. It is a special place.” Views from some of the main rock panels offer a sweeping vista across the Till Valley towards the Cheviot Hills. Rock art is often found in such locations and offers clues to its original purpose, which has generated scores of theories. One of the Chatton panels has multiple concentric circles, pairs of cups, squares and domino-style markings.

Neil Clark, senior advisor at Defra’s Rural Development Service North-East, said: “This agreement shows the many applications of Countryside Stewardship, not only helping to enhance and preserve wildlife habitats but also protecting important aspects of our national heritage.”

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Link

Northumberland
County
Northumberland Rock Art, access to Beckensall archive

This website is the celebration of rock carvings made by Neolithic and Early Bronze Age people in Northumberland in the north east of England, between 6000 and 3500 years ago. Over 1000 carved panels are known and most of them are still located in the countryside.

The website is also a celebration of the work of Stan Beckensall who has spent 40 years finding and recording this ancient rock art. For many years Beckensall shared his knowledge and recordings of Northumberland rock art through public talks, conference presentations, and richly illustrated publications. Now we have the World Wide Web!

It is our hope that the information and images presented in this website will encourage greater enjoyment of this cultural resource; inspire the creation of new knowledge and insights into Northumberland and British rock art; and set the basis for the effective management and conservation of this ancient resource for future generations.

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Link

Northumberland
County
BBC Radio Four

Listen to Aubrey Manning’s ‘Unearthing Mysteries’ programme on the tri-radial cairns of Northumbria.

About 20 have been found (some are at Lordenshaw. The three arms of the cairns are aligned in the same way; one pointing north and the others at 140 and 240 degrees (SE and SW). That means they could be pointers to the mid-summer and midwinter sunrise and sunset. It’s thought that they’re Bronze Age.

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