A Ramble over Roughting Linn...

Roughting Linn is the largest inscribed rock in Northumberland, measuring 20x12 metres and standing around 3 metres taller than the surrounding terrain. It's clear that this natural sandstone rock outcrop would have been quite the landmark in the area even before ancient artists began to decorate it. Situated only metres away from the ramparts of an Iron Age fort and at most a mile from the Goatscrag Rock Shelter by Roughting Linn Farm, it's clear this area has been of some importance for thousands of years. Even today, in its current state (which we'll talk a bit more about later) there is a special atmosphere here. The site and farm take their name from a picturesque waterfall where the Broomridgedean Burn falls over a ledge into a pool surrounded by cliffs; Linn meaning 'pool', and Roughting meaning 'bellowing noise'.

Tucked away in a little wood near Ford, Northumbria, beside an unassuming single lane road, these petroglyphs are over 4000 years old, hailing from the Neolithic/Early Bronze Age. The outcrop sports an array of cupmarks, ringmarks (some with well-defined grooves), linked grooves, radiating lines, inverted curves, maze-like carvings and keyhole-type motifs across its entire visible surface. It's possible in some areas to see that some markings have become partially covered by grass and moss. The western part of the outcrop has been lost to quarrying pre-1950, as has a section large section across the width of the site. Distribution-wise, the simpler motifs seem to be confined to the upper surface of the outcrop, while more prominent and complex designs are located on the steeper flanks. These seem to form a frieze around the edges of the rock, which would have resembled a cairn with a decorated kerb. Kerbs circling burial mounds are known at barrow sites all over Europe.

The defensive ramparts of an Iron Age promontory fort are clearly visible only metres west of the rock art panel. Several concentric deep ditches surround the site of the fort which is now intersected by the road running up to Roughting Linn Farm. On the other side of this enclosure,  access to Roughting Linn waterfall is down a rather steep escarpment, but well worth the climb.








Many attempts have been made to interpret meaning behind cup- and ringmarked stones such as those at Roughting Linn. Fertility, first fruits, disease curing, animism, weather control, associations to 'little people' (elves/fairies), ringing sounds and astronomy have all been forwarded as explanations are various sites across the UK, Europe, and indeed the entire planet.

In North Yorkshire a marked stone is named the 'Fertility Stone' but the origins of the name are long lost, while the 'Tree of Life' Stone in the same area has been the site of may Day services even in recent times. Indeed many sites, especially in more remote areas, seem to be important to folklore. Offerings of milk to 'the little folk' on the islands of western Scotland are not long passed, and women in Sweden, desperate to conceive have been known to leave gifts at cupmarked stones.At the now destroyed 'Witch's Stone' at Ratho, near Edinburgh, a set of cupmarks were hewn into a boulder whose sides were smoothed by people sliding down the surface (a practice known from other sites in the area). It is believed that this was part of a superstitious fertility ritual where women wishing to bear children slid down the rockface.

Through my study of the Native American storytelling tradition way back in my Am. Lit. days, I learned that oral tradition could conserve stories over centuries and even millennia. At Roughting Linn we see the use of this same area through several ages, from the Neolithic/Bronze Age carvings, the Iron Age fort, even to the farm today right by the Goatscrag overhang. It's easy to imagine the folklore of this site being passed down through generations of people who fluctuated in and out of the area. When trying to understand why the folklore of sites around the UK may not be as well-preserved, a tragic realisation is that the persecution of 'Wise women' as witches would have left the stories and legends either dead with their storytellers or locked away in the minds of women too terrified to admit their knowledge. So, perhaps we will never know the exact meaning of cup- and ringmarked sites, but by examining the remnants of local folklore and anthropological analogies from other sites around the world, we can still make an educated guess.

What is clear is that, even to this day and despite the lack of conclusive interpretations,sites such as Roughting Linn carry a significant meaning. The atmosphere of the site was that of a sacred place, given the placement in the landscape, the cryptic art and the sounds of the waterfall cascading into the pool below. Indeed, one visitor recorded on their website having arrived to 'find the site occupied by two delightful ladies of a most spiritual nature quietly enjoying this sense of place'.

As I mentioned earlier, the site's current state demands commentary. We only found it because we saw a rock outcrop through the trees just past the road leading to Roughting Linn Farm and stopped 'just in case'. The rotting, decrepit sign I've seen on older pictures was no longer standing. The path to the site is overgrown with rhododendrons-- In fact, the entire area is overgrown and the fences (also visible on old photos of the site) are now reduced to stubs, clearly having been sawed down. Moss, grass and lichen are reclaiming the outcrop itself, and the rock art is constantly exposed to hundreds of feet trampling over it every year.

 

The saddest thing about this state of disrepair, is that there were lots of people visiting while we were there. Two large family groups and a few couples all passed through the area at the same time as my parents and I. All of them were speculating on the nature of the site; How old it was; What the symbols meant; What the ditches were. Of course, I could have babbled to them for a good few minutes and told them what I know, but wouldn't it be much better if the site were given a long overdue overhaul?

The wealth of this site is surely worth an investment. It wouldn't take too much. Put up a signpost. Clear some trees. Remove some moss and lichen. Add a few info boards explaining the site to visitors. Put up a new fence so kids don't jump around on the petrogylphs, scuffing at the porous sandstone with their trainers (because that's what they do). Point out what those ditches nearby actually are. Set up a little 'walk' around the area and include the waterfall. Make it an attraction, both for the locals and visitors to the area. It'd work a treat. The interest is there already; now it's time someone put in the effort.