The Siting of Prehistoric Rock Art in Galloway, South-west Scotland

1993 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 269-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bradley ◽  
Jan Harding ◽  
Margaret Mathews

The interpretation of prehistoric rock art has posed some intractable problems, but recent studies have sought to integrate it within a more broadly based landscape archaeology. They emphasise the special character of this material, not only as a system of distinctive motifs, but also as a source of information employed by people engaged in a mobile pattern of settlement. This paper investigates the character of the rock art of south-west Scotland, comparing the positions of the petroglyphs with two series of control samples in the surrounding landscape. The carvings seem to have been situated at viewpoints. They may have been directed towards the coastline and the Galloway hills and commanded a significantly wider field of vision than locations in the surrounding area. There is some evidence that differences in the size and complexity of the motifs are related to their placing in the local topography, with the simpler carvings around the edges of lowland ‘territories’ near to the shoreline, and the more complex compositions in upland areas, especially around shallow basins and waterholes. The changing character of the designs may reflect differences in the composition of the audience who viewed them.

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Alicja Barbara Sołowczuk ◽  
Dominik Kacprzak

The on-going growth in the use of motor vehicles leads to a number of traffic safety problems. Therefore, various traffic calming measures are applied to increase traffic safety in built-up areas. Lane narrowing is one of the techniques used to influence the perception of drivers and make them slow down. With this in mind, the authors conducted traffic volume and speed counts before and after installation of the lane narrowing treatment, covering 100 passing vehicles, at an intersection between an urban dual carriageway and an estate street where over a dozen fatal accidents occurred in the recent years. Traffic noise was also measured, both before and after lane narrowing. The traffic count data were analysed to show speed reduction by ca. 15 km/h, yet in all cases still above 50 km/h, which is the speed limit applicable to built-up areas in Poland. The analysis of the “before” and “after” noise maps showed only minor changes to the distribution of noise. The locations of these changes to the acoustic environment depended on the speed and volume of traffic and, much more importantly, on the topography of the surrounding area, the existing roadside layered landscape and the type of planted vegetation. The detailed analyses of the analysed parameters demonstrated that sustainable design of traffic calming measures on urban dual carriageways must consider not only the desired speed reduction but also the surrounding landscape and the local topography.


2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tertia Barnett ◽  
Maria Guagnin

This article examines the relationship between rock art and landscape use by pastoral groups and early settled communities in the central Sahara from around 6000 BC to 1000 AD. During this period the region experienced significant climatic and environmental fluctuations. Using new results from a systematic survey in the Wadi al-Ajal, south-west Libya, our research combines data from over 2000 engraved rock art panels with local archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence within a GIS model. Spatial analysis of these data indicates a correspondence between the frequency of rock art sites and human settlement over time. However, while changes in settlement location were guided primarily by the constraints on accessibility imposed by surface water, the distribution of rock art relates to the availability of pasture and patterns of movement through the landscape. Although the reasons for these movements undoubtedly altered over time, natural routes that connected the Wadi al-Ajal and areas to the south continued to be a focus for carvings over several thousand years.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-99
Author(s):  
Lindsay Dunbar ◽  
Mike Roy

The islands of Orkney have long been associated with examples of Viking-age activity and often yield unique and well preserved records from the Viking and Late Norse periods. Investigations on the island of Sanday in Orkney, as part of a call off contract for human remains between Historic Environment Scotland and AOC Archaeology Group, have revealed the presence of an inhumation in association with an iron knife. Further investigation reveals that the burial is that of an adolescent skeleton (12–17 years). The north-east/south-west alignment of the body, in a flexed position, and its association with an iron knife indicates a pre-Christian burial rite, in line with a 9th or 10th century AD date, which corresponds with radiocarbon dating carried out on the skeletal remains. This burial contributes a new record to the wealth of evidence from around this period within the surrounding landscape on the island of Sanday.


Abgadiyat ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-35
Author(s):  
Hamdi Abbas Ahmed Abd-EI-Moniem

Abstract Some may believe that the history of mankind begins with the appearance of writing only a few several thousands of years ago (cf. 4000-3000 BCE). Our history, however, extends beyond that date millions of years. The history of mankind, indeed, is deeply rooted in the remote past which is called 'prehistory'. With the lacking of any form of writing, this 'prehistoric' period can be examined directly solely by recourse to the study of archaeological remains. The purpose of this account is to introduce rock art to the readers and show the significant role of this sort of archaeological material in studying the history of mankind before the appearance of written records. The current work, therefore, is divided into three main sections: the first deals with definition of rock art and its nature; the second section is devoted to showing the significance of this aspect of material culture in exploring a long and mysterious period of the early history of man characterized by the complete absence of written records or historical documents; the third and last section, which is a vital and integral part of this work, comprises an explanatory pictorial record to promote the understanding of prehistoric rock art as a source of information needed for writing the history of prehistory.


MAUSAM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-348
Author(s):  
K. M. SINGH ◽  
M. C. PRASAD ◽  
G. PRASAD

An attempt has been made to issue semi-quantitative precipitation forecasts for Baghmati/Adhwara Group of rivers/Kamala-Balan catchments based upon 22 years data (1982-2003). The study reveals that it is possible to issue semi-quantitative precipitation forecast with confidence. Local topography and its steep gradient on Indo-Nepal Border are main factors that give birth to severe floods during south west monsoon and pose problems to Darbhanga City.


2012 ◽  
pp. 50-75
Author(s):  
Cathy Day

The aim of this paper is to determine the birthplaces, rather than residences, of spouses married in two parishes in England and to consider the effect of local topography, religion and occupation on pre-marital geographic mobility. A wide array of primary documentary sources was used to construct a database of over 22,000 individuals who lived in south-west Wiltshire in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Individuals were arranged in family groups and pedigrees traced for several generations. Data were included on birthplace, religious affiliation, occupation and many other variables. Geographical mobility calculated from birthplace was higher than estimates derived from residence prior to marriage. Brides had shorter marital distances than grooms. There were noticeable changes in the frequency of marital distance at 4 miles and 11 miles. Spouses born outside the parish of marriage were more likely to come from certain villages in ways which cannot be explained merely by distance and size. The Somerset-Wiltshire border formed a barrier, although a porous one, to the flow of marriage partners. Occupation influenced geographical mobility: grooms from higher-status occupational groups were more likely to be born further away than grooms from lower-status occupational groups. Catholic grooms were more likely to be born in the parish of marriage than Protestant grooms, but were also more likely to be born more than 11 miles away.


1994 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bradley ◽  
Felipe Criado Boado ◽  
Ramón Fábregas Valcarce

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