Open-Air Rock-Art Conservation and Management: State of the Art and Future Perspectives

318 Pages·2014·6.275 MB·English

by  Timothy Darvill (editor), Antonio Pedro Batarda Fernandes (editor)

Open-Air Rock-Art Conservation
and Management
While much has been achieved in understanding and managing weather
effects and erosion phenomena affecting ancient imagery within the rela-
tively protected environments of caves and rock-shelters, the same cannot be
said of rock-art panels situated in the open-air. Despite the fact that the num-
ber of known sites has risen dramatically in recent decades, there are few
examples in which the weathering and erosion dynamics are under investi-
gation with a view to developing proposals to mitigate the impact of natural
and cultural processes. Most of the work being done in different parts of the
world appears to be ad hoc, with minimal communication on such matters
among teams and with the wider archaeological community.
This richly illustrated book evaluates rock-art conservation in an holistic
way, bringing together researchers from across the world to share experi-
ences of work in progress or recently completed. The chapters focus on
a series of key themes: documentation projects and resource assessments;
the identification and impact assessment of weathering/erosion processes at
work in open-air rock-art sites; the practicalities of potential or implemented
conservation interventions; experimentation and monitoring programmes;
and general management issues connected with public presentation and the
demands of ongoing research investigations. Consideration is given to the
conservation of open-air rock-art imagery from many periods and cultural
traditions across the Old and New Worlds. This timely volume will be of
interest to conservators, managers, and researchers dealing with aesthetic
and ethical issues as well as technical and practical matters regarding the
conservation of open-air rock-art sites.
Timothy Darvill is professor of archaeology in the Faculty of Science and
Technology, Bournemouth University, UK.
António Pedro Batarda Fernandes is a postdoctoral research fellow in
the Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, UK, and
the Côa Museum and Archaeological Park, Portugal.
Routledge Studies in Archaeology
1 An Archaeology of Materials 7 Materiality and Consumption in
Substantial Transformations the Bronze Age Mediterranean
in Early Prehistoric Europe Louise Steel
Chantal Conneller
8 Archaeology in Environment
2 Roman Urban Street Networks and Technology
Streets and the Organization Intersections and Transformations
of Space in Four Cities Edited by David Frankel,
Alan Kaiser Jennifer M. Webb and
Susan Lawrence
3 Tracing Prehistoric Social
Networks through Technology 9 An Archaeology of Land
A Diachronic Perspective Ownership
on the Aegean Edited by Maria Relaki and
Edited by Ann Brysbaert Despina Catapoti
4 Hadrian’s Wall and the End 10 From Prehistoric Villages
of Empire to Cities
The Roman Frontier in the 4th Settlement Aggregation and
and 5th Centuries Community Transformation
Rob Collins Edited by Jennifer Birch
5 U.S. Cultural Diplomacy 11 Space and Time in
and Archaeology Mediterranean Prehistory
Soft Power, Hard Heritage Edited by Stella Souvatzi and
Christina Luke and Morag Athena Hadji
M. Kersel
12 Open-Air Rock-Art
6 The Prehistory of Iberia Conservation and Management
Debating Early Social State of the Art and Future
Stratification and the State Perspectives
Edited by Maria Cruz Berrocal, Edited by Timothy Darvill
Leonardo García Sanjuán, and António Pedro Batarda
and Antonio Gilman Fernandes
Open-Air Rock-Art
Conservation and
Management
State of the Art and Future Perspectives
Edited by Timothy Darvill and
António Pedro Batarda Fernandes
First published 2014
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
© 2014 Taylor & Francis
The right of the editors to be identified as the author of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Open-air rock-art conservation and management : state of the art and future
perspectives / edited by Timothy Darvill and António Pedro Batarda Fernandes.
pages cm. — (Routledge studies in archaeology ; 12)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Rock paintings—Conservation and restoration. 2. Petroglyphs—Conservation and
restoration. 3. Art, Prehistoric—Conservation and restoration. 4. Cultural property—
Conservation and restoration. I. Darvill, Timothy. II. Batarda Fernandes, António Pedro.
GN799.P4.O64 2014
759.01ʹ13—dc23
2013043416
ISBN: 978-0-415-84377-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-75417-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xiii
Abbreviations and Acronyms xv
Preface and Acknowledgements xix
1 Open-Air Rock-Art Preservation and Conservation:
A Current State of Affairs 1
TIMOTHY DARVILL AND ANTÓNIO PEDRO BATARDA FERNANDES
2 Approaches to the Conservation and Management of
Open-Air Rock-Art Panels in England, United Kingdom 17
TIMOTHY DARVILL
3 The Preservation and Care of Rock-Art in Changing
Environments: A View from Northeastern England,
United Kingdom 38
MYRA J. GIESEN, ARON D. MAZEL, DAVID W. GRAHAM,
AND PATRICIA A. WARKE
4 Pride and Prejudice: The Challenges of Conserving and
Managing Rock-Art in the Landscape of Northern England,
United Kingdom, through Public Participation 53
KATE E. SHARPE
5 Irish Open-Air Rock-Art: Issues of Erosion and Management 70
ELIZABETH SHEE TWOHIG AND KEN WILLIAMS
6 The Open-Air Rock-Art Site at Leirfall, Central Norway,
within the Context of Northern Scandinavian Rock-Art
Conservation and Management Practices over the
Past 50 Years 82
ELIZABETH E. PEACOCK, EVA LINDGAARD, KALLE SOGNNES,
ROAR SÆTERHAUG, AND GORDON TURNER-WALKER
vi Contents
7 Experiences Documenting Petroglyphs at Lake Onega,
Russia, 1998–2012 98
NADEZHDA V. LOBANOVA
8 ‘Preservation by Record’: The Case from Eastern Scandinavia 112
LILIANA JANIK
9 Aspect and Rock-Art Conservation: Preliminary
Meteorological Data Regarding the Côa Valley, Portugal,
Open-Air Rock-Art Complex 125
ANTÓNIO PEDRO BATARDA FERNANDES
10 Lonely Stones: Preservation of Megalithic Art in the
Iberian Peninsula 142
FERNANDO CARRERA RAMÍREZ
11 The Conservation of Spanish Levantine Rock-Art
in Aragón, Spain, Using 3-D Laser Scanning 159
MANUEL BEA AND JORGE ANGÁS
12 Conservation Programs in Chaco Cultural National
Historical Park, USA: Outgrowths and Consequences
of Rock-Art Recording Projects 167
JANE KOLBER AND DONNA YODER
13 Managing Chaos: Vandalism Rock-Art at
the Okotoks Erratic, Alberta, Canada 174
JACK W. BRINK
14 The Conservation Diagnostic Process in Colombian
Rock-Art Research 189
GUILLERMO MUÑOZ AND JUDITH TRUJILLO
15 Conservation of Rock-Art Sites in Northeastern Brazil 201
MARIA CONCEIÇÃO SOARES MENESES LAGE AND WELINGTON LAGE
16 Past and Present, Traditional and Scientific: The
Conservation and Management of Rock-Art
Sites in Australia 214
MELISSA MARSHALL AND PAUL S. C. TACON
17 Challenges of Conserving Rock-Art at the uKhahlamba
Drakensberg Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 229
NDUKUYAKHE NDLOVU
Contents vii
18 Non-invasive Methods for I n-Situ Assessing and
Monitoring of the Vulnerability of Rock-Art 244
ELIZABETH BEMAND, HAIDA LIANG, AND MARTIN BENCSIK
19 Computer-Aided Simulation of Natural Erosion Processes
on Rock-Art: A Mathematical Tool for Conservation
Studies and Absolute Dating 259
PAOLO EMILIO BAGNOLI
20 Rock-Art: An Overview of Recent Developments and
Initiatives by UNESCO and ICOMOS with Especial
Reference to World Heritage Sites 272
AMANDA CHADBURN
Contributors 283
Index 293
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Figures
2.1 Comparison of motif plans. 28
2.2 Laser scanning rock-art. 29
2.3 English rock-art and the public. 32
3.1 Rock-art in the landscape. 44
3.2 Climate change models. 46
3.3 General guidance criteria for assignment of Staged
Assessment for monuments. 49
4.1 Rock-art in woodland at Rivock Edge, West Yorkshire. 54
4.2 The Carved Stones Investigations: Rombalds Moor. 60
4.3 Rock Art Mobile Project. 65
5.1 A moss-covered boulder at Forenaghts, Co. Kildare. 72
5.2 Irish open-air rock-art on public view. 75
5.3 The changing state of rock-art panels. 78
6.1 Map of Scandinavia showing the location of the Leirfall
rock-art site in central Norway. 83
6.2 The Leirfall III panel. 84
6.3 Monitoring temperature at Leirfall III. 90
6.4 Leirfall III winter covering. 94
7.1 Location map showing the position of Lake Onega. 99
7.2 The ‘Hermitage Rock’. 101
7.3 Recording Lake Onega open-air rock-art. 108
7.4 Recording Lake Onega underwater rock-art. 109
8.1 Map showing the White Sea region and the locations
of rock-art sites. 113
8.2 Map of Zalavruga. 118
8.3 Recording rock-art in the White Sea region. 120
8.4 Zalavruga site, walking platforms. 123
9.1 Location and altitude of the Côa Valley rock-art outcrops. 126