A New Context for Rock Art: a Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Ritual Monument at Fylingdales, North Yorkshire

Abstract

After fire swept across 2.5 km2 of heather moorland the detail of a wide range of archaeological features was revealed. Among these was a so-far unique small circular monument, the principal component of which was a circle of near-upright slabs set in a shallow trench. The stones included one with a complex pecked geometric design reminiscent of some Grooved Ware ceramic decoration, and another with more commonly found cup-mark and linear motifs. Limited excavation was undertaken in response to disturbance of the monument and it was discovered that the stone with complex decoration had been reshaped for its monumental setting, having perhaps previously been a free-standing decorated monolith. In its altered form the stone formed part of a small circular arena, the interior face of which may have included alternating decorated and undecorated stones. The open arena had later been filled with rubble creating a small cairn, its material including a small block detached from the main stone as well as a number of cup- and other marked stones. Apart from the decorated stones there were no diagnostic artefacts and no direct dating information was present. It is suggested that the decorated stones originate in the later Neolithic period and that the monument containing them was constructed in the Early Bronze Age.

Design and Connectivity: The Case of Atlantic Rock Art

“…In some cases, the stones seem to have been re-shaped, but also reassembled in new compositions (Hewitt 1991:44-5). (Vyner 2011). In this case the stones were clearly remodelled before re-incorporation in the monument, a pattern also visible in the burial cists of Craigie Hall (Midlothian, Scotland) and Carnwath (Lanarks, Scotland) (Simpson and Thawley 1972:92).…”

“…al. 2012;Vyner 2011), whilst parts of the British Isles were covered by woodland during the first half of the 3 rd millennium BC until the 2 nd millennium BC, at which point the vegetation is gradually cleared and transformed into heathland (Vyner 2011). Of course, this is subject to local variabilities and more studies are required to fully understand the prehistoric environment.…”

“…In the British Isles, where some prehistoric landscapes are better preserved, a great number of standing stones dot the landscape, and their spatial correlation with rock art panels cannot be overlooked. They are usually dated to the Late Neolithic/EBA period (Vyner 2011). In addition to a spatial proximity some standing stones were also decorated.…”

Long Distance Connections Within Britain and Ireland: the Evidence of Insular Rock Art

“…There is similar information from two other regions. In England, the decorated panels at Fylingdales on the North York Moors are not far from a potential landing place in Robin Hood’s Bay (Vyner 2011; Brown & Chappell 2012). In Ireland, Dundalk Bay provided access to the concentration of decorated surfaces investigated by O’Connor (2006) in Counties Monaghan and Louth.…”

Neolithic Cupmarks from Vasagård on Bornholm, Denmark: Dating the Rock Art Tradition in Southern Scandinavia

“…Observations from the Newgrange passage grave in Ireland and the Dalladies long barrow in north-eastern Scotland show that the cup and ring mark tradition predates the construction of the tombs, the latter dated to c. 3200 and 3280 bc (Piggott, 1972, 1973; O'Kelly, 1982; Waddington, 1998: 31–33). Furthermore, at the Ness of Brodgar (Orkney) and the Fylingdales stone circle (Yorkshire, northern England) cupmarks and megalithic art appear together in the same contexts (Vyner, 2011; Thomas, 2016: 15, 19, 156). On the Iberian Peninsula, some radiocarbon dates suggest that megalithic art began in the early fourth millennium bc, at approximately the same time as the tombs were being built (Bradley, 2002; Scarre, 2010).…”