Rock Art Mobile Project

The rock-art of Northumberland represents a significant heritage resource in the north of England. Some 1100 rock-art panels have been documented in Northumberland and over 750 of these located in the countryside. The enthusiastic public response to the AHRB-funded Newcastle University's Beckensall Northumberland Rock-Art (NRA) website has demonstrated the substantial public interest for rock-art. In a three and half year period from early 2005 to mid-2008 the website received some 115,000 unique visitors from over 100 countries, although mostly from the UK. Public interest in rock-art is further demonstrated in the extensive efforts that local volunteers and amateur archaeologists have dedicated to its recording since the 1970s and the perceived increased visitation to rock-art sites during the last decade.

The launch of Newcastle University's Beckensall Northumberland Rock-Art (2005) and the England's Rock-Art (2008) websites has significantly improved public access to this heritage resource and provided it with a global audience. The Rock-Art Mobile Project (RAMP) will build on this success and further enhance the visitor experience to three rock-art areas (with approximately 100 rock-art panels) in Northumberland where Neolithic and Early Bronze Age rock-art is located, through mobile digital technology. It is also the intention of RAMP to engage new audiences for rock-art through the deployment of cutting-edge technology. RAMP will provide the public with greater access to focused information to plan their visits and activities. Without the availability of a visitor centre providing dedicated devices, and with poor or non-existent connection to a phone mast, Bluetooth connection to a hidden solar-powered access point is the best means to provide rich multimedia interpretation by using wireless transmission. We will place three such access points close to sites where rock-art can be found, providing maps, information from Newcastle University's and England's Rock-art databases, images and other media to visitors own phones, which we will develop through a participatory design process. The small programs they download and install will also allow visitors an opportunity to capture qualities of the location and experience onto their mobile phone, which they can later upload to an online space when back in contact with the internet through wifi or over the air. This presents further opportunity for visitors to develop their creative expression and share their travel impressions via their choice of social networks, linkage with the full rock-art database, and self-publishing options such as postcards and newspapers. The latter make personalised, unique, attractive guides that can be shared with friends and family, combining parts of the expertly curated database with personal experiences from the heritage visit. The overall design process will be supported by participatory design workshops, pilot studies and project evaluation.

Along with providing an enhanced visitor experience to rock-art panels, RAMP will promote increased visitor numbers and possible longer (and repeat) visits in rural areas which will benefit the local economy. It will also aid heritage managers with the creation of greater awareness about the vulnerability of rock-art and information derived from user-generated content will contribute to management strategies.

The enthusiastic public response to the AHRB-funded Newcastle University's Beckensall Northumberland Rock-Art (NRA) website has demonstrated the substantial public interest for rock-art. NRA was launched in early 2005 and by mid-2008 had received some 115,000 unique visitors and over 500,000 pages had been visited. Public interest in rock-art is further demonstrated in the extensive efforts that local volunteers and amateur archaeologists have dedicated to its recording since the 1970s. The Rock-Art Mobile Project (RAMP) will build on and enhance this interest in rock-art.

RAMP's beneficiaries include: (i) the public; (ii) tourism and local economy; (iii) heritage managers; and (iv) special interest groups. A variety of mechanisms will be used to ensure that they benefit from RAMP:

-The public (e.g. tourists, locals) will be given increased access to rock-art interpretive content in-situ along with the chance to express themselves imaginatively through digital media. They will have the opportunity to engage with and produce content, and to make connections with family and other people around rock-art. These activities will be supported by accessible and usable content, which is interoperable with personal devices. Members of this group will be involved in design workshops and pilot studies on using mobile interpretation and user-generated content.
-Tourism and local economy (e.g. tourism agencies) will benefit from increased visitors and possible longer (and repeat) visits. They will be engaged in RAMP's design process and will have access to evaluation findings.
-Heritage managers (e.g. Northumberland Park) will benefit from the creation of greater awareness about the vulnerability of rock-art. Furthermore, information derived from user-generated content will contribute to management strategies. They will be involved in RAMP's design, implementation, and dissemination strategies and will have access to evaluation findings.
-Special interest groups (e.g. rock- art enthusiasts and walkers) will have greater access to information about the landscape which will support the planning of activities and the opportunity to strengthen group cohesion around creative outputs. They will be involved in all stages of the project.

A multi-pronged dissemination strategy will ensure that knowledge about RAMP and its benefits are widely known. The strategy will involve: (i) Direct contact with organizations that will be invited to work with RAMP; (ii) Press releases and flyers to raise the profile of RAMP targeting all media (e.g. newspapers, magazines); (iii) Blog posts e.g. British Rock-art Blog; (iv) Public talks will be given about RAMP; (v) Publication of popular articles; (vi) Sharpe's online newsletter entitled 'Rock-articles' will be used for publicity; (vii) The Great North Museum will be requested to host a temporary display about RAMP alongside its permanent rock-art display; and (viii) Horizon-scanning will be undertaken to identify opportunities to create further publicity for RAMP. In addition, RAMP is expected to be disseminated in academic audiences such as university students and academic peers.

The project team has considerable experience in public engagement. Mazel and Sharpe were key players in NRA and Northumberland and Durham Rock Art Pilot projects respectively and have strong track records and commitment to public archaeology. Galani has extensive experience in developing digital heritage projects in multidisciplinary teams, involving the public, and has delivered media literacy workshops to heritage practitioners on the topic of social media. Pearson has extensive experience in stakeholder consultation in the cultural sector and working experience of using social media for communication and dissemination of ideas.