The landscapes of northern Britain are decorated with an array of symbols carved into stone surfaces over 5000 years ago. In this course we will explore what these intriguing symbols can tell us about the people who made them – what their world was like, and what mattered to them. These abstract marks are found on boulders and outcrops but are also used to decorate monuments such as burial tombs and stone circles. What might they mean? Why were they placed on particular stones?  And how do they fit within the rich variety of rock art around the world, from the earliest cave art to modern graffiti? The course will include a visit to a rock art site in the Lake District.

Dr Kate Sharpe

Residential: £410 Non-residential: £290