Revealing the Earliest Animal Engravings in Scotland: The Dunchraigaig Deer, Kilmartin

The recent discovery of animal carvings in the Early Bronze Age burial cairn at Dunchraigaig (Kilmartin Glen, Scotland) prompts a re-evaluation of current knowledge of rock art in Britain. The deer and other quadrupeds represented in the monument are the first unambiguous depictions of prehistoric animals of prehistoric date in Scotland, and among the earliest identified in Britain and Ireland. This contrasts with the well-known abstract carvings of rock art in this region, characterized by cup-marks and cup-and-rings. The discovery also reinforces the special character of Kilmartin Glen as one of the most original and remarkable Neolithic–Bronze Age landscapes of monumentality and rock art in Britain. This article describes the process of authenticating the Dunchraigaig carvings as part of the Scotland's Rock Art Project (ScRAP) and discusses their implications for our understanding of prehistoric rock art in Scotland, Britain and Atlantic Europe more widely

Prehistoric rock art in Scotland: archaeology, meaning and engagement

This booklet aims to widen understanding and appreciation of prehistoric rock carvings in Scotland. Rock art forms some of the most prolific, fascinating, and inspiring fragments of Scotland’s ancient past. It captures a wealth of information about the people who created it, the world they lived in, and the beliefs they held in order to make sense of that world. There is still much to learn about Scotland’s rock art, but investigations over the last two decades have helped us understand more about its significance to people in the past and its value to us today. In the following pages, we provide an overview of rock art in Scotland, its connections with other parts of Britain and Europe, and its treatment today. In the first two sections (About Rock Art and Rock Art and Meaning), we emphasise the uniqueness of Scotland’s rock art and explore the key questions surrounding it: What is it? Where is it? How old is it? Who made it? And, above all, what does it mean? In the third section (Rock Art Today), we highlight the importance of recording, preserving and celebrating the rock art that survives today to ensure future understanding, community engagement, and cultural identity. There is much more to say about rock art than we can possibly fit into this booklet and, in the final section, we offer suggestions for where to find out more and where to visit rock art in the landscape, in museums, and online

A multiscalar methodology for holistic analysis of prehistoric rock carvings in Scotland

Prehistoric rock carvings are one of Scotland’s most enigmatic and poorly understood monument types. This article discusses the pioneering approach used by Scotland’s Rock Art Project to enhance understanding of the abstract motifs through multiscalar computational analyses of a large dataset co-produced with community teams. The approach can be applied to suitable rock art datasets from other parts of the world and has international relevance for rock art reserach. Our analysis incorporates data from across Scotland in order to investigate inter-regional differences and similarities in the nature and contexts of the carvings. Innovative application of complementary analytical methods identified subtle regional variations in the character of the rock art and motif types. This variability suggest an understanding of the rock art tradition that was widely shared but locally adapted, and reflects connections and knowledge exchange between specific regions

DMP VII: Style, symbolism and cultural identity in the Wadi al-Hayat: results of fieldwork in 2008 and 2009

This article reports on the results of the 2008 and 2009 field seasons to survey and record rock engravings in the Wadi al-Hayat. The project started in 2004 with the intention of systematically surveying a 160 km long section of the wadi, centred on the Garamantian settlement at Jarma. This was completed in 2009 in collaboration with the Desert Migrations project. Over 600 previously unrecorded engraved panels were identified in 2008–9. These appear to range in date from the early Pastoral period to the post-Garamantian period. Clear links have been noted in previous seasons in the distribution of the engravings with respect to specific topographic and cultural features. The 2008–9 survey showed that rock carvings also mark patterns of movement through the wadi, and that these patterns appear to shift over time between the Pastoral and post-Garmantian periods. Some of the areas investigated provide relatively easy access into the Wadi al-Hayat from the south and may have represented important corridors for the migration of people and animals for thousands of years.<jats:p/>In tandem with the systematic survey, a targeted survey of selected Late Pastoral and Garamantian cemetery and settlement sites was undertaken during the 2008 season. No positive relationship was found between rock engravings and Garamantian burial or settlement sites. However, a definite association was demonstrated between rock art and Late Pastoral burials and temporary camp sites

Rock art of the Wadi al-Ajal, Libya

The dataset contains information about 2450 engraved rock surfaces in the Wadi al-Ajal, Fezzan, Libya, located and recorded between 2004 and 2009 by the Wadi al-Ajal Rock Art Project directed by Dr Tertia Barnett and funded by The Society for Libyan Studies and The British Academy. The majority of the engravings are new discoveries, and include figurative and abstract images, inscriptions, and a range of functional and non-functional rock markings. They span a period of around 8000 years, from at least 6000 BC to recent times - a period during which the cultural and natural landscapes of the Sahara were transformed. The engravings are important for understanding prehistoric and protohistoric human activity in the Sahara, and adaptation to changing climatic and environmental conditions. The data have been published in Barnett T (2019) An Engraved Landscape: rock carvings in the Wadi al-Ajal (Volume 1: Synthesis; Volume 2: Gazetteer). London: The Society for Libyan Studies. The dataset includes (a) a spreadsheet with grid references, detailed descriptions and quantitative information on content and context of every engraved rock surface, (b) photographs of the engravings and their contexts, (c) digital line drawings of a selection of the engravings, and (d) 3D material for a selection of the rock surfaces.Barnett, Tertia. (2019). Rock art of the Wadi al-Ajal, Libya, [dataset]. Society for Libyan Studies and University of Edinburgh. School of History, Classics & Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.7488/ds/2609

Revealing the Earliest Animal Engravings in Scotland: The Dunchraigaig Deer, Kilmartin

The recent discovery of animal carvings in the Early Bronze Age burial cairn at Dunchraigaig (Kilmartin Glen, Scotland) prompts a re-evaluation of current knowledge of rock art in Britain. The deer and other quadrupeds represented in the monument are the first unambiguous depictions of prehistoric animals of prehistoric date in Scotland, and among the earliest identified in Britain and Ireland. This contrasts with the well-known abstract carvings of rock art in this region, characterized by cup-marks and cup-and-rings. The discovery also reinforces the special character of Kilmartin Glen as one of the most original and remarkable Neolithic–Bronze Age landscapes of monumentality and rock art in Britain. This article describes the process of authenticating the Dunchraigaig carvings as part of the Scotland's Rock Art Project (ScRAP) and discusses their implications for our understanding of prehistoric rock art in Scotland, Britain and Atlantic Europe more widely

The Past, Present and Future of Rock Art Research in Scotland

There is considerable value then in examining Scotland’s prehistoric carvings from the perspective of landscapes, archaeology, discovery and research specific to this country, both for appreciating diversity within Scotland, and for informing studies of British and European rock art. The following account reviews the development of knowledge and understanding of Scotland’s rock art. It draws on multiple sources, including preliminary results from work by Scotland’s Rock Art Project (ScRAP), a five-year (2017-2021) Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded programme to enhance understanding, awareness and value of prehistoric rock art in Scotland through community co-production and research.2 First, we consider how knowledge has been constructed over the last 200 years. We then examine the state of rock art data today, and its implications for research. Finally, we discuss research trajectories, highlighting how work in Scotland has contributed to current understanding, before concluding with some remarks on future directions and longer-term aspirations. Although relevant to the themes discussed in this paper, management and sustainability concerns are covered only briefly