A petroglyph discovered in a cave in Wales by an archaeologist from the University of Bristol has been proposed as the earliest petroglyph in Britain. "The chance finding by Dr. George Nash from the University's Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, of a reindeer wall engraving in a South Wales cave could be Britain's oldest example of rock art dating more than 14,000 years ago. Dr. Nash discovered the faint scratchings of a speared reindeer while visiting the Gower Peninsula Caves near Swansea in September 2010. The drawing is believed to have been carved by a hunter-gatherer artist in the Ice Age." (Heritage Daily 2011)
"In the 1950s, Cambridge University undertook an excavation there and found 300-400 pieces of flint and dated the occupation of the cave to between 12,000-14,000 BC. This drawing appears to have (been) engraved by an artist using his or her right hand as the panel on which it is carved is located in a very tight niche." (Heritage Daily 2011)
This image was previously cited as an example of Handedness in rock art (see Handedness in Rock Art published in RockArtBlog on June 6, 2020) because its location and orientation suggest that it had to have been created by a right-handed artist.
"Until
the 13th century, wild herds of reindeer could be found roaming freely in
Scotland until the species was hunted to extinction. Reindeer became extinct in
the UK about 800 years ago because of hunting, the vikings are thought to have
hunted them - but also due to climate change." (McNeish 2019)
"The discovery of a cervid, probably an engraved reindeer, was made on a vertical panel inside a discrete niche northeast of the main gallery. This almost hidden engraving is the first possible evidence of Pleistocene rock art in Wales and only the second discovery of rock art in Britain of this period. Along with this figure are a number of other engravings awaiting evaluation and a possible area of applied hematite that may be contemporary with the reindeer engraving. If this is the case this will be the first evidence of painted rock art in the British Isles." (Nash 2011: 151)
The
important message to be taken from this is to never give up on finding more
rock art. This cave had been visited by archaeologists and students since the
1950s, yet this one image was still waiting, undiscovered, for Dr. Nash on this
particular day. Who knows what else will still turn up?
NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
McNeish, Cameron - 2019 British Reindeer guide: species facts and where to see in the UK, Countryfile, Nov. 11, 2019, https://www.countryfile.com/wildlife/12-things-you-never-knew-about-reindeer/
http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/british_isles_prehistory_archive/gower_peninsula_south_wales/images.
Heritage Daily - 2011 Archaeologist's Chance Discovery May Be Britain's Earliest Example of Rock Art, https://www.heritagedaily.com/2011/08/archaeologist%e2%80%99s-chance-discovery-may-be-britains-earliest-example-of-rock-art/7067
Nash, George, Peter Van Calsteren, and Louise Thomas - 2011 Marks of Sanctity? Discovery of Rock Art on the Gower Peninsula, South Wales, Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture, Vol. 4, Issue 2, July 2011, pp. 149-154
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