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Rediscovered in Bacon Hole, Wales, the 11 parallel red lines were dated between 15,700 and 18,300 years, with a central estimate of 17,100 years, and have been reclassified as the oldest rock art in Great Britain and northwestern Europe.
Red marks painted about 17,000 years ago in caves in Wales have been reclassified as the oldest rock art in Great Britain and northwestern Europe, following a new analysis in Bacon Hole.
Caves return to the center of an ancient controversy
The 11 parallel red lines were discovered in 1912, in southern Wales, by researchers who interpreted them as prehistoric rock art. However, the hypothesis was rejected in 1928.
At the time, other scientists argued that the marks were merely natural emanations of red iron oxide. Without methods capable of dating the pigments, the original interpretation remained unconfirmed for almost a century.
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The review occurred after a modern team rediscovered Bacon Hole in 2022, on the banks of the Bristol Channel. The location of the cave had not been precisely specified by the early researchers.
Dating indicates marks of 17,100 years
The study published in the journal Quaternary confirmed that someone painted the lines on the cave wall between 15,700 and 18,300 years ago. The most highlighted estimate by the researchers is 17,100 years.
The team used uranium-thorium dating on the pigments, a method nonexistent when the controversy began. The result reinforced the hypothesis of the first discoverers and overturned the naturalistic explanation adopted since 1928.
The lines appear arranged horizontally, with regular spacing between them. For the researchers, this pattern indicates a deliberate and structured composition, created by human action.
Pigment contained hematite and clay
In the laboratory, the “paint” revealed a mixture of hematite, a compound of iron oxide, and clay residues. The hematite was likely collected in an area at the bottom of the cave itself.
Photographs and measurements taken in Bacon Hole also identified red dots and splashes in other sections. These traces indicate that the creator of the marks worked with their fingers.
The Bristol Channel region was, at that time, a fertile plateau, treeless, still thawing after an Ice Age. Mammoths, bison, horses, elk, and reindeer occupied the environment during the summer.
These animals likely attracted hunter-gatherers to the Gower Peninsula, where there are nearly 100 caves. Some of them may have served as seasonal shelters for human groups.
Function may have been practical or ritual
Researchers do not know exactly how Bacon Hole was used in the Upper Paleolithic. The marks, however, are in a deep, dark chamber, a feature that suggests symbolic or ritual value.
George Nash, the study’s lead author, states that the classification as art reflects a modern interpretation. For him, the lines might have functioned as a communication system or counting marks, with meaning now inaccessible.
The spiritual possibility has not been ruled out. The darkness, isolation, and unusual acoustics of the deep chambers could be part of the experience created by those who entered that space.
Previous excavations in Bacon Hole revealed pre-Roman pottery, a Roman-era bone pin, a 7th-century Irish brooch, and a medieval pot. In 1894, a local fisherman also left graffiti in the cave.
Source: smithsonianmag.
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