Scotland's Rock Art in context: placement, re-placement and engagement

岩石艺术是一种全球现象。它往往是文化遗产和身份的一个决定性特征，吸引了相当大的学术兴趣，抓住了公众的想象力，甚至激发了当代艺术家的灵感。在英国，已知有超过6,000块带有“杯环”雕刻的岩石，尽管对英国岩石艺术的详细了解仍然非常有限，除了少数学术和私人专家，更广泛的认识仅限于诺森伯兰郡和基尔马丁（阿盖尔）等几个关键地区。超过三分之一的雕刻品在苏格兰，如果有一个全面的数据库，这个地区将非常适合进行比较分析。我们的目标是与当地社区和遗产组织合作，以便系统地研究英国的岩石艺术景观是如何由人类行为和信仰塑造的。本研究围绕三个问题展开：岩石艺术是如何在景观中使用的？随着时间的推移，这些雕刻是如何被重复使用的？今天的艺术品是如何被使用和估价的？这些图案在新石器时代和青铜时代早期（约公元前4000 -1800年）被雕刻在选定的固定天然岩石表面上。虽然可能仍然无法确定这些雕刻的内在含义，但对其形式，位置和上下文关联的研究可以阐明其意义。从新石器时代晚期开始，许多雕刻的岩石被从它们原来的环境中取出，并在建筑结构中重新使用，这表明它们继续流行。在最近的时代雕刻经常被重新定位到博物馆和私人收藏，或销毁。因此，对岩石艺术的使用和再利用进行分析，对于理解随着时间的推移而定义地方和社区的行为、观念和价值至关重要。这是第一个以这种规模关注英国岩石艺术的重大研究项目。以前的研究集中在单一的网站或区域集群，创造一个支离破碎的和扭曲的印象，掩盖了共同的主题或变化，并阻碍了更广泛的区域连接和身份的理解所建议的图案及其背景。此外，雕刻往往有一个长期的生活超过早期青铜时代没有被考虑，尽管有证据表明，故意重用在后来的结构。如今，岩石艺术在英国的社会知名度和价值都很低。研究当代对岩石艺术的态度将揭示社会价值观是如何通过不断变化的意识，参与和教育来形成的，这对未来的研究，遗产管理和社区赋权至关重要。与文物组织和社区团体进行的广泛咨询表明，对研究的浓厚兴趣以及对跨界别合作的热情。该项目建立在我们在社区参与，岩石艺术可视化和研究方面的丰富经验之上。与全国各地的当地社区和遗产机构合作，我们将制作一个全面的苏格兰岩石艺术数据库，包括3D和2D数字模型，我们将使用它作为调查当地，区域和区域间雕刻的工具。我们将在GIS模型中整合岩画数据与考古和土地利用数据集，使我们能够对雕刻进行地理空间分析，以了解它们在景观中的位置以及从史前到现在不断变化的文化背景。将对雕刻进行统计分析，并将其纳入地理信息系统模型，以探索区域差异，并确定与具体地形和文化特征有关的属性的潜在模式。历史记载和当地社区的参与将使我们了解不断变化的看法，治疗和岩石艺术的社会价值。总之，该项目将为英国和北方欧洲考古学做出重大贡献，并成为世界岩石艺术研究的重要参考点。

Rock art is a global phenomenon. It is often a defining feature of cultural heritage and identity, attracting considerable scholarly interest, capturing public imagination and even inspiring contemporary artists. In Britain, over 6,000 rocks with 'cup-and-ring' carvings are known, although detailed knowledge of British rock art remains very limited beyond a handful of academic and private specialists, with wider awareness restricted to a few key regions such as Northumberland and Kilmartin (Argyll). Over a third of the carvings are in Scotland, an area which would be highly suitable for comparative analysis if it had a comprehensive database. Our aim is to work with local communities and heritage organisations in order to undertake a systematic study of how the rock art landscape in Britain was shaped by human actions and beliefs. The research is structured around three questions: How was rock art used in the landscape? How have the carvings been reused over time? How is rock art used and valued today? The motifs were engraved onto selected fixed natural rock surfaces during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c.4000-1800 BC). While it may remain impossible to ascertain the intrinsic meanings of these carvings, the study of their form, location and contextual associations can illuminate their significance. From the Late Neolithic period onwards, many carved rocks were taken from their original contexts and reused in built structures, indicating their continued currency. In more recent times carvings have frequently been re-located to museums and private collections, or destroyed. Analysis of rock art use and reuse is therefore crucial to understanding the behaviour, perceptions, and values that have defined places and communities through time.This is the first major research project to focus on British rock art at this scale. Previous studies have concentrated on single sites or regional clusters, creating a fragmented and distorted impression that obscures common themes or variations, and hinders understanding of the wider regional connections and identities suggested by the motifs and their contexts. Furthermore, that the carvings often had a long life beyond the Early Bronze Age has not been considered, despite evidence of deliberate reuse in later structures. Today, rock art in Britain has a low social visibility and value. Studying contemporary attitudes to rock art will reveal how social values are forged through changing awareness, engagement and education, which is vital for future research, heritage management, and community empowerment. Wide-ranging consultation with heritage organisations and community groups has revealed a deep interest in the research, and enthusiasm for cross-sector collaboration. The project builds on our extensive experience of community engagement, rock art visualisation, and research. Working with local communities and heritage bodies across the country, we will produce a comprehensive database of Scotland's rock art, including 3D and 2D digital models, which we will use as a tool for investigating the carvings at local, regional and inter-regional scales. We will integrate the rock art data with archaeological and land-use datasets in a GIS model to enable us to undertake geospatial analysis of the carvings in relation to their placement in the landscape and changing cultural contexts from prehistory to the present day. Carvings will be analysed statistically and added to the GIS model in order to explore regional variability and to determine potential patterning of attributes in relation to specific topographical and cultural features. Historical accounts and local community involvement will inform our understanding of changing perceptions, treatment and social value of rock art. In conclusion, this project will make a major contribution to British and Northern European archaeology, and be an important point of reference for world rock art studies.