Amateur archaeologist finds ‘phenomenal’ trove of rock engravings

An interesting pastime and kind of a reversal of how it works for many musicians - they do something else to support their music habit. He has been able to shift from music to teaching and the hunting of artifacts. I've selected a few paragraphs from the article, read the rest at the link. (I know there are quite a few armchair archaeologists in the Mudcat crowd.)

Scottish enthusiast George Currie’s prehistoric carvings to be included in ‘exciting’ research project

An amateur archaeologist has tracked down hundreds of prehistoric rock engravings in Scotland in what has been described as a “phenomenal” contribution to the understanding of Britain’s earliest artworks.

Walking in all weathers once or twice a week, George Currie, 66, a musician by trade, has located more than 670 Neolithic and Bronze Age carvings over the past 15 years. He told the Observer: “It was ridiculous … I got tired of recording the stuff. I’ve never come across quite so much.”

A semi-retired musician and teacher of guitar, bass and musical theory, Currie used to play with a band, Darts, that had chart success in the 1970s. He lives in Dundee, where he taught in a local college. “The course stopped. I didn’t fully retire, [but] it did give me more time to pursue this.”