Researchers report that red pigment stripes found on a rock face inside a Welsh cave are prehistoric and date to about 17,000 years ago, making them the oldest known rock art in the United Kingdom. The markings were first discovered more than a century ago when the red-lined wall was documented, but they were long dismissed by some observers as a natural feature rather than deliberate human artwork. In the new study, scientists re-examine the cave evidence and present age and interpretive findings that support an artificial origin. The work concludes that the red stripes represent some form of deliberate rock art from the late Ice Age period. By establishing both the age and the human-made character of the markings, the researchers say the cave provides the UK’s earliest confirmed prehistoric art record. The findings shift the previous understanding of the site, which had been treated as natural geology for decades.
Study identifies 17,000-year-old red stripes in a Welsh cave as Britain’s oldest rock art
Researchers report that red pigment stripes found on a rock face inside a Welsh cave are prehistoric and date to about 17,000 years ago, making them the oldest known rock art in the United Kingdom. Th...
- Red stripes on a rock face in a Welsh cave are identified as deliberate prehistoric rock art.
- The artwork is dated to about 17,000 years ago.
- The markings were discovered more than a century ago.
- For over 100 years, the red stripes were often dismissed as a natural phenomenon.
- The study concludes the stripes are the oldest known prehistoric art in Britain.
Over a century after a red-lined cave wall was discovered, scientists have determined that it represents the U.K.'s oldest rock art.
2 months agoDismissed as a natural phenomenon for more than a century, red stripes on a rock in Wales have been found to be the oldest known prehistoric art in Britain.
2 months ago
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