Art as Metaphor: The Prehistoric Rock-Art of Britain Book

Enigmatic, esoteric and fascinating, the rock-art of the British Isles has for a long time been a well kept secret at home and abroad. However, dedicated work by rock-art researchers over the last few decades has seen the discovery of hundreds of new panels and the publication of several high quality regional surveys and numerous survey reports and academic articles, and the creation of a highly successful world-class website on Northumberland rock-art. British rock-art has arrived on the world stage. Drawing on these exciting developments, this volume brings together a carefully selected collection of papers that cover British prehistoric rock-art from over 10,000 years ago. Some of the topics addressed include: recent discoveries of Palaeolithic cave art and probable Mesolithic; inscriptions; new perspectives on Neolithic-Early Bronze Age and Pictish rock-art; regional studies on the rock-art of Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and South West Britain; relationships between rock-art and ritual and funerary monuments and between rock-art and landscape; experiential approaches to understanding passage grave art within chambered tombs; the history of British rock-art research. Contents: 1) A coming of age (Aron Mazel, George Nash and Clive Waddington); 2) Rock-art and art mobilier of the British Upper Palaeolithic (Paul Pettitt and Paul Bahn); 3) Possible Mesolithic cave art in southern England (Graham Mullan & Linda Wilson); 4) Neolithic rock-art in the British Isles: retrospect and prospect (Clive Waddington); 5) Pictish symbol stones: caught between prehistory and history (Meggen Gondek); 6) Rock-art in Cleveland and north-east Yorkshire: contexts and chronology (Blaise Vyner); 7) Exploring links between cupmarks and cairnfields (Philip Deakin); 8) Light at the end of the tunnel: the way megalithic art was viewed and experienced (George Nash); 9) Rock-art and rough outs: exploring the sacred and social dimensions of prehistoric carvings at Copt Howe, Cumbria (Kate E. Sharpe); 10 ) A scattering of images: the rock-art of southern Britain (George Nash); 11) How the study of rock-art began and developed (Stan Beckensall); 12) On the fells and beyond: exploring aspects of Northumberland rock-art (Aron D. Mazel).