ABSTRACT
One of the great achievements of archaeological investigation across the world over the past half century has been the recognition and recording of rock-art covering the whole span of human existence from the Pleistocene through to modern times (Bahn 1998; Clottes 2002). But this success also presents a challenge for the future, as protecting, conserving, and managing these remains is neither simple nor straightforward. It is extraordinary that so much open-air rock-art has survived at all given the abrasive environmental conditions that many sites face (Bahn 2010a, 170–97; Carrera Ramírez 2002; Dorn et al. 2008; Hall et al. 2007; Herráez 1996; Hygen 2006; Lucas Pellicer 1977; Manning 2003; Soleilhavoup 1993; Swantesson 2005; Tratebas et al. 2004; Walderhaug and Walderhaug 1998), the impact of human actions ranging in severity from destructive property development to vandalism and theft (Anon. 2011; Bahn 2010a, 170–97; Bauman 2005; Harry et al. 2001; Keenan 2000; Searight-Martinet 2006; Sims 2006; Soler i Subils and Brooks 2007; Taruvinga and Ndoro 2003), and the abrasive effects of environmental change affecting many of the landscapes where rock-art sites commonly occur (Aberg et al. 1999; Christensen 2005; Fitzner et al. 2004). Conserving and managing these open-air sites is a field of study that has received relatively little attention, a situation that contrasts with the conservation of motifs found in caves which has benefited from extensive research (see, for instance, Brunet et al. 1987; Brunet et al. 1995). Similarly, although methods to monitor environmental conditions and weathering dynamics within caves are well developed (Brunet and Vidal 1993; Malaurent et al. 2007; Vouvé et al. 1983), few comparative data are available from open-air rock-art sites, and what there are tend to warn of the dangers of ill-considered and hastily prepared conservation works (see, for instance, Bakkevig 2004; Devlet and Devlet 2002).
