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，激发了公众的想象力，甚至启发了当代艺术家。在英国，已知有6000多块刻有杯环雕刻的岩石，尽管除了少数学术和私人专家之外，对英国岩石艺术的详细了解仍然非常有限，更广泛的认识仅限于少数几个关键地区，如诺森伯兰和基尔马丁(阿盖尔)。超过三分之一的雕刻在苏格兰，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，对人类行为和信仰如何塑造英国的岩石艺术景观进行系统研究。这项研究围绕三个问题展开：岩石艺术是如何在风景中使用的？随着时间的推移，这些雕刻是如何被重复使用的？岩石艺术在今天是如何被使用和被珍视的？这些图案是在新石器时代和青铜时代早期(公元前4000-1800年)被雕刻在选定的固定自然岩石表面上的。虽然可能仍然不可能确定这些雕刻的内在含义，但对它们的形式、位置和上下文联系的研究可以阐明它们的意义。从新石器时代晚期开始，许多雕刻的岩石被从原始环境中取出，在已建成的建筑中重复使用，这表明它们继续流行。在最近的时间里，雕刻经常被重新安置到博物馆和私人收藏品中，或者被销毁。因此，分析岩石艺术的使用和再利用对于理解行为、感知和价值观随着时间的推移定义了地点和社区至关重要。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个地点或区域集群，造成了一种支离破碎和扭曲的印象，模糊了共同的主题或变化，阻碍了对主题及其背景所暗示的更广泛的区域联系和身份的理解。此外，尽管有证据表明这些雕刻品在后来的建筑中故意重复使用，但人们并没有考虑到这些雕刻品往往在青铜时代之后具有很长的寿命。今天，摇滚艺术在英国的社会知名度和价值都很低。研究当代人们对岩石艺术的态度将揭示社会价值观是如何通过改变认识、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。与遗产组织和社区团体的广泛咨询表明，人们对这项研究有着浓厚的兴趣，并对跨部门合作充满热情。该项目建立在我们在社区参与、摇滚艺术可视化和研究方面的丰富经验基础上。我们将与全国各地的当地社区和遗产机构合作，建立一个全面的苏格兰岩石艺术数据库，包括3D和2D数字模型，我们将使用这些模型作为工具，在当地、区域和区域间的尺度上调查雕刻。我们将把岩石艺术数据与考古和土地使用数据集整合在一个地理信息系统模型中，使我们能够对雕刻在景观中的位置和从史前到今天不断变化的文化背景进行地理空间分析。将对雕刻进行统计分析，并将其添加到地理信息系统模型中，以探索区域变异性，并确定与特定地形和文化特征相关的潜在属性模式。历史记载和当地社区的参与将告诉我们对岩石艺术不断变化的看法、待遇和社会价值的理解。总之，该项目将对英国和北欧的考古做出重大贡献，并为世界岩石艺术研究提供重要的参考。

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.