Northumberland's Oldest Art
In December 2014, a large boulder decorated with ancient art was recovered during an archaeological excavation on the outskirts of Newcastle.
The decoration on the boulder was probably made by Neolithic people around 5000 years ago. It became known as Birney Hill Rock, after the place at which it was found.
Following the excavation, the boulder was placed at the back of the Great North Museum (GNM): Hancock.
And, there it remained until semester 2, 2020-21, when the Heritage Studies MA students took on the challenge of developing a permanent interpretation panel for it.
The interpretation project took the students on a multi-faceted learning journey. To begin with, they arranged with Newcastle University Estates and the GNM for the rock, which weighs a few tons, to be relocated to a prominent place near the museum’s front entrance, so that it would be seen by many people. They learnt about ancient rock art in the UK, and particularly Northumberland, which was unknown to them previously.
The students engaged with:
- a heritage interpretation practitioner
- an international rock art specialist
- a heritage interpretation panel designer
- the company that produced the panel and the stand for it
Some of the activities carried out by the student team included:
- running an online rock art event for young learners with the GNM education team
- promoting the project via social media
- hosting an online session with volunteers to obtain feedback on their draft panel
- co-ordinating the installation of the panel with the GNM.
The students drafted and redrafted the text several times until they had it as they wanted. All this was done in under four months.
Student team: Haifa Albasri, Jacob Atkinson, Jenny Banton, Sam Jepps, Rebecca McGurk, Aneta Milczarska, Charlotte Orr, Luke Severn, Marina Wang, Ellen Wiltshire, Weining Xiang.
Student project manager: Charlotte Orr
Graphic designer: Ben Smith
Panel production: Border signs & graphics
Great North Museum curator: Caroline McDonald
Module leader: Aron Mazel
