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Rock art at Ketley Crag rock shelter is a Bronze Age or later rock shelter site located in Northumberland. The site features cup-and-ring markings carved into the rock face, a form of prehistoric rock art that appears on numerous monuments across northern Britain and is typically associated with the Bronze Age period, though the precise dating of such carvings remains uncertain. The rock shelter itself would have provided natural protection and may have served as a temporary refuge or ritual site for prehistoric communities. The presence of such carved motifs at sheltered locations suggests the site held significance beyond simple domestic use, possibly relating to ceremonial or symbolic practices of early Bronze Age populations in the region.
Rock art at Ketley Crag rock shelter is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1417677. View the official record →
Rock art at Ketley Crag rock shelter is a Bronze Age or later rock shelter site located in Northumberland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1417677.
Rock art at Ketley Crag rock shelter is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1417677.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Promontory fort, 551m east of Hepburn Cottage (5.1 km), Standing stone with cup markings 270m north west of Newtown Mill (6.4 km), Bewick Hill, cairns and barrows, Old Bewick (6.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Rock art at Ketley Crag rock shelter's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Rock art at Ketley Crag rock shelter stands on Border Group, bedrock that formed in the Meramecian. The rock here is sandstone with subordinate argillaceous rocks and limestone.