ABSTRACT
For a long time the relationship between rock art and Early Bronze Age burials occupied a central place in British research. This was because here, and only here, pieces of carved stone could be found in direct association with easily dated artefacts. That evidence seemed to be vital in building a chronology, but, unfortunately, it was not always handled with care. The basic material was very limited and some of the written sources were unsatisfactory, yet the chronological arguments inspired by these finds dominated discussion so completely that very little was said about the role that rock carvings might have played in the funeral rite. This chapter acknowledges the poor quality of much of our evidence but attempts to redress the balance.
