Historian who investigated mysteries of ancient carvings dies at 93
Celebrated historian who delved into secrets of the prehistoric mind dies aged 93. Tony Henderson reports.
Historian and prolific author Dr Stan Beckensall, who devoted decades to the mystery of prehistoric rock carvings in Northumberland, has died at the age of 93.
The panel of cup and ring carvings which Stan Beckensall came across in 1966 at Old Bewick in Northumberland inspired him to find out more about what has now become known as prehistoric rock art, created by Neolithic and Early Bronze Age hands between 6,000 and 3,500 years ago.
Today, the great question about rock art is still unanswered – what does it signify?
Stan’s tenacity in ploughing a lone furrow for decades to find rock art examples, and the books he wrote on the subject, resulted in it becoming a part of mainstream archaeological study.
Tribute was paid to his dedication to the task for more than 50 years by a book on the intriguing subject, made up of contributions by experts who have been inspired by Stan’s efforts – and the stream of books he himself has written since his first volume in 1974.
A copy of the book was presented to Stan on his 90th birthday at a ceremony in Hexham Abbey.
The book was edited by North East archaeologists Paul Frodsham and Kate Sharpe.
Paul and Kate say in the book:
“Stan has done a phenomenal amount of work, on an entirely amateur basis, discovering, recording and interpreting rock art in his home county of Northumberland and elsewhere. Much of this work was done in the 1970s and 1980s when the subject was largely shunned by professional archaeologists.”
An exhibition of 90 rock art photographs – one for every year of Stan’s life – was on show at the abbey as part of the book launch.
One of the contributors to the book was Northumberland-based heritage expert Aron Mazel, who managed a project to digitise Stan’s archive and create a website, launched in 2005.
For the digitisation project Stan and Aron revisited more than 800 of Stan’s rock art sites and also made new discoveries, which provided more than 1,000 examples in Northumberland for the website.
Aron said: “Stan’s contribution to rock art has been immense. He kept at it for many years when there really wasn’t a body of people doing this kind of work.”
Stan recalled the finding of his first rock art panel: “You realise that you’re dealing with religious symbolism, but it’s not simply that because religion wasn’t something separate from ordinary life, but it was terribly important to them and I realised this just by looking at this big block of stone. So I thought this is what I’m going to find out.”
Stan was an English teacher and then trained teachers at Alnwick College of Education, until it closed in 1977. He was later head teacher of Corbridge and then Rothbury middle schools.
He wrote more than 40 books on rock art and the history of Northumberland, from the story of Hexham to Hadrian’s Wall, and from castles to its hills and valleys.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Newcastle University for his contribution to the study of British rock art, and the MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours list for services to prehistoric rock art and history in Britain.
A service of thanksgiving for Stan’s life will be held on October 10 at 10.30am at Hexham Abbey.