Enigmatic, esoteric and fascinating, the rock-art of the British Isles has for a long time been a well-kept secret. This volume brings together a carefully selected collection of papers reporting on recent discoveries and regional surveys covering British prehistoric rock-art from over 10,000 years ago.

In this latest book the prolific Stan Beckensall returns to his principal specialism, Britains prehistoric rock art.

This lavishly illustrated volume presents a state of the art survey of the ancient rock art of Britain and Ireland. Bringing together new discoveries and new interpretations, it enhances our understanding and further establishes ancient British and Irish rock art as a significant archaeological assemblage worthy of attention and additional study.

This comprehensive work takes a broad view of what rock art entails, covering the history of rock art research and the discovery of many new sites. The author illustrates the different symbols and motifs that are found throughout the British Isles, and shows where they occur in landscapes and monuments. It is a book that captures the excitement of discovery and examines the various theories about the origin, use and meaning of rock art. Stan Beckensall also explains the problems of accurate conservation, recording, and display.

Along the Atlantic seaboard, from Scotland to Spain, are numerous rock carvings made four to five thousand years ago, whose interpretation poses a major challenge to the archaeologist. In the first full-length treatment of the subject, based largely on new fieldwork, Richard Bradley argues that these carvings should be interpreted as a series of symbolic messages that are shared between monuments, artefacts and natural places in the landscape. He discusses the cultural setting of the rock carvings and the ways in which they can be interpreted in relation to ancient land use, the creation of ritual monuments and the burial of the dead. Integrating this fascinating yet little-known material into the mainstream of prehistoric studies, Richard Bradley demonstrates that these carvings played a fundamental role in the organization of the prehistoric landscape.

Prehistoric rock art is the markings - paintings, engravings, or pecked images - left on rocks or cave walls by ancient peoples. In this book, Paul G. Bahn provides a richly illustrated overview of prehistoric rock art and cave art from around the world. Summarizing the recent advances in our understanding of this extraordinary visual record, he discusses new discoveries, new approaches to recording and interpretation, and current problems in conservation. Bahn focuses in particular on current issues in the interpretation of rock art, notably the "shamanic" interpretation that has been influential in recent years and that he refutes. This book is based on the Rhind Lectures that the author delivered for the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 2006.

Stan Beckensall's enthusiasm for rock art makes him the ideal author for this guide to the abstract motifs and symbols spread across the landscape. Here he focuses on detailed regional surveys carried out in Northumberland, Yorkshire, southwest England and Wales, Galloway, Argyll, Tayside, the Highlands and Grampians, and on rock art associated with standing stones, stone circles, burial monuments and rock shelters. The history of recording and studying the art is discussed, and a good collation of examples and descriptions are given that will form a useful companion to the more speculative discussion of the interpretation of the motifs put forward by others.

This revised edition is an accumulation of two decades of research and fieldwork by the authors, and presents a comprehensive account of the little known prehistoric rock art within the North York Moors area. It covers Northern England's last major area of rock art and describes the geographical and moorland setting of sites including those associated with other archaeological monuments. Its main focus remains the rock art on Fylingdales Moor near Ravenscar where, following a devastating moorland fire in 2003, over 200 sites were recorded including the stunning 'Linear Marked Stone'. Included is a new section on recording techniques using laser, photogrammetry and other methods, an updated gazetteer of recently discovered rock art sites in the North York Moors area, and appendices providing details of recent major discoveries within the area. The book offers a rational, clearcut and invaluable source of information to all those with an interest in or intention to study rock art. Paul Brown, independent archaeologist, has discovered many of the finest examples of prehistoric rock art in the UK, and has researched the rock art of regions such as Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland and Scotland.

The Element summarises the state of knowledge about four styles of prehistoric rock art in Europe current between the late Mesolithic period and the Iron Age. They are the Levantine, Macroschematic and Schematic traditions in the Iberian Peninsula; the Atlantic style that extended between Portugal, Spain, Britain and Ireland; Alpine rock art; and the pecked and painted images found in Fennoscandia. They are interpreted in relation to the landscapes in which they were made. Their production is related to monument building, the decoration of portable objects, trade and long distance travel, burial rites, and warfare. A final discussion considers possible connections between these separate traditions and the changing subject matter of rock art in relation to wider developments in European prehistoric societies.