REDISCOVERED LATE UPPER PALEOLITHIC IMAGERY IN A CAVE IN BRITAIN:

 

Bacon Hole cave, Gower Peninsula, South Wales. Photograph from Nash et al., 2026, figure 2.

The oldest cave art in Britain has been essentially rediscovered in Bacon Hole cave, on Gower Peninsula in South Wales. First seen in 1912 by Henri Breuil and Professor William Sollas they were called the first Paleolithic cave art in Britain. This was, however, dismissed by skeptics and subsequently ignored and all but forgotten, until recently. The painted marks have been looked up again and reexamined by scientists (Arnold 2026). Records of the cave painting, however, still existed.

 

The first photograph of the panel, taken in 1913 by W.L. Morgan. From Nash et al., 2026, figure 6.

“Following the rediscovery of the painted panel in 2022, the First Art team, in collaboration with dating specialists from the University of Southhampton, conducted two expeditions to Bacon Hole in 2023 and 2024. Both visits were commissioned by the National Trust and scheduled outside the bat hibernation season (October to April). The primary aim of these visits was to create a photographic record of the wall sections within the eastern side chamber, focusing particularly on the area surrounding the painted panel.” (Nash et al. 2026) The painting was rediscovered in September 2022. The international team of scientists conducted pigment analysis looking for organic residues, and collected samples from calcite flows for Uranium-Thorium dating on a vertical painted surface within a side chamber. (Nash et al. 2026) It is, perhaps, of note that the investigation occurred outside of bat hibernation season. This may have been done out of consideration for the wildlife, but my guess would be that it was prompted by the range of viruses carried by bats.

 

The panel as photographed (left) and then processed with dStretch (right). From Nash et al., 2026, figure 9.

The teams did a quite complete job of studying and sampling the paint as well as the calcite layers on the cave wall. “In addition to the photographic survey, the painted surfaces originally discovered by Breuil and Sollas in 1912 were sampled to establish potential minimum and maximum date ranges. A total of twelve samples (six from each expedition) were collected. These included samples for both dating purposes (calcite overlapping pigments) and pigment geochemical analysis. The latter aimed to identify potential organic and inorganic binders using Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and Micro-Raman analysis.” (Nash et al. 2026)

 

The samples taken for Uranium-Thorium dating revealed a range of dates with the oldest being 15.7 ka (at a 95% confidence level). (Nash et al. 2026) Other dates came back from more recent eras, such as the Bronze Age.

Locations sampled on the panel. From Nash et al., 2026, figure 10.

The conclusions of the teams back up the original estimates by Breuil and Sollas. "Based on the evidence gathered from the two fieldwork visits, we concur with the original interpretation proposed by Breuil and Sollas in 1912 - that the horizontal lines (or streaks) represent anthropogenic activity. The painted lines are arranged horizontally and are equidistant from one another, indicating a deliberate and structured patternn. Furthermore, the hematite used to produce the ten lines likely derives from a single source, probably located at the rear of the side chamber" (Nash et al. 2026).

Bacon Hole also has a wide range of images, scribbles and initials from since the time of the original painting (see Nash et al. below).

REFERENCES:

Arnold, Paul, 2026, Britain’s oldest cave art may have been rediscovered in Bacon Hole cave, 2 June 2026, The Gist (Phys.org online). Accessed online 2 June 2026.

Nash, George H. et al., 2026, Rediscovered Late Upper Paleolithic Painted Imagery at Bacon Hole, Gower Peninsula, South Wales, Quaternary (online), Vol. 9, No. 3, 26 May 2026, https://doi.org/10.3390/quat9030043.  Accessed online 2 June 2026.

11,000-YEAR-OLD DEER SKULL MASKS FROM STAR CARR SUGGEST THAT BREUIL MAY HAVE BEEN RIGHT:

 

 "The Shaman" of Les Trois Freres, France. Photograph J. Vertut, collection Bégouën.

Henri Edouard Prosper Breuil was a French pioneer in rock art studies who did the first recording of many of the French cave art discoveries. One particular image that proved controversial was from the cave of Les Trois Freres. In a chamber that he dubbed The Sanctuary Breuil sketched a figure he called The Sorcerer.

Composite of photograph and Breuil's sketch, Internet photograph, public domain.

“The Sorcerer engraving was first studied and copied by Henri Breuil while making his sketches of the cave art, back in the 1920s. He drew a human-type figure with a headdress that resembled antlers, and it was this sketch – published in the 20s – that influenced many subsequent theories about the Sorcerer. Breuil himself believed that the picture represented a shaman or magician, and that its presence in the Sanctuary indicated that the chamber was used for shamanistic or ritualistic ceremonies.” (Visual-Arts-Cork)

Breuil's sketch of "The Shaman" from Les Trois Freres, France. Internet photograph, public domain.

Breuil’s sketch shows an anthropomorphic figure wearing a set of antlers and, while the antlers figure prominently in his sketch, researchers have since questioned the accuracy of Breuil’s work because no photograph of the image shows the antlers in question. It is reported that this image is both painted (or drawn) in pigment, but also that there is some fine scratching involved in it so the possibility remains that the antlers are there in finely scratched detail that Breuil’s up close and in person examination revealed, but that they have not been picked up in subsequent photographs.

Finds at the British site of Star Carr have provided a possible explanation for the antler headdress on this figure.

        Star Carr deer mask, Internet                      photograph, public domain.

“The site was occupied during the early Mesolithic archaeological period, which coincided with the preboreal and boreal climatic periods. Though the ice age had ended and temperatures were close to modern averages, sea levels had not yet risen sufficiently to separate Britain from continental Europe. Highlights among the finds include Britain’s oldest structure, 21 red deer stag skull-caps that may have been headdresses and nearly 200 projectile, or harpoon, points made of red deer antler. These organic materials were preserved due to having been buried in waterlogged peat. Normally all that remains on Mesolithic sites are stone tools.” (Wikipedia)

The lower portions of the skulls had been removed, the inside surface smoothed, and holes drilled for the thongs that are assumed to have held the masks on the wearer’s head. Some of the larger examples have eye holes suggesting that they covered a portion of the wearer’s face as well. This is notable because it may cast light on one of the Abbe Breuil’s more controversial conclusions from the French cave of Le Trois Freres.

Star Carr deer mask, Photograph ancient-origins.net.

Now that we have actual antlered headdresses it seems to heighten the possibility that Breuil was indeed correct and seemingly supports his version of the figure wearing an antlered headdress. The versions with eye holes might also explain the strange round eyes on the figure as well.

None of this proves anything, of course, but it may add possible evidence toward the eventual conclusion of this mystery.

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:

Visual-Arts-Cork, Trois Freres Cave, http://www.visual-arts-cork.com

Wikipedia, Star Carr, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Carr

THE OLDEST ART IN EUROPE?

In the January – February, 2013, issue of Archaeology magazine, a fascinating article entitled Structural Integrity, by Nikhil Swaminathan, discusses domestic spatial utilization by Paleolithic people in the ancient rock shelter of Abri Castanet. Randall White, of New York University, has been conducting studies there for eighteen years and has recovered about 150,000 artifacts, from limestone blocks to burnt reindeer bone and minute beads. White has also found markings engraved on stone (petroglyphs) that he estimates at 35,000 years old (lab results will be back early in 2013). These engravings seem to have mostly been found on block and slabs of stone that had fallen from the roof of the cave and there are both aesthetic and functional examples.

Anneaux with engraved line on limestone block.

Abri Cansanet, France. From Archaeology Magazine,

January - February 2013, Structural Integrity,

by Nikhil Swaminthan, pages 55 to 63.

Perhaps the most interesting functional examples are called anneaux. These are pairs of pits or gouges cut into the rock next to each other which have then been joined with an undercut down by the bottom of the pits leaving what is essentially a stone ring or stanchion. Thirty anneaux on 18 different slabs of rock, both from the ceiling and the floor have been found. It is believed that they served as tying points or anchors to tie up a reindeer hide curtain for protection from harsh weather conditions making them part of an early mechanical system.

Petroglyph identified as a vulva. Abri Castanet, France.

From Archaeology Magazine, January - February 2013, p. 29.

As early as 1909 the landowner, Marcel Castanet, was digging at the site, prompted by his discovery of an ivory bead nearby in a fox hole. After a couple of months he found a limestone slab which had the petroglyph of what he thought at first to be a heart on one side, later identified by Abbe Henri Breuil as a portrayal of a vulva.

One block of stone had lines on it that had been identified as the hindquarters of an animal. The adjoining piece of stone was recovered later and displayed the remainder of the creature, allowing the team to identify it as an aurochs.

Estimates of the age of material from the excavation of Abri Castanet (37,000 b.p.) make this material possibly the oldest rock art in Europe made by modern (Cro Magnon) humans. I sincerely hope that Archaeology will keep us updated on this.

REFERENCE:

Swaminithan, Nikhil

2013    Structural Integrity, pages 55 – 63, Archaeology Magazine, January-February 2013.

MUSIC AT ROCK ART SITES?

On February 24, 2010, I posted a column titled “Rock Art and Sound Effects”. In that posting I discussed the possibility that sound effects may have enhanced the experience of viewers of painted panels in European caves. Also, that many rock art panels are located in places that display unusual echo effects. Another possible manifestation of sound at rock art sites would be music. This could be music played in the presence of rock art, and could also be music as a theme of the imagery in the rock art.

Trois freres sanctuary, sketched by

Abbe Breuel,Musee de l'Homme.

One example of music as a theme of rock art is found in the sanctuary at Le Trois Freres, sketched by the Abbe Breuel. Often considered a shaman figure, this therianthropic character seems to be dancing on human legs but possesses a bison head, horns and forelimbs. Additionally, this enigmatic figure is obviously carrying a bow and appears to be pursuing a group of bison. This has led to previous classifications of this scene as a portrayal of hunting magic.

Les Trois Freres, Abbe Breuil, 1912, p.21

In Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present, Lucy Rault, suggested that this figure was, in fact, playing music on a musical bow. She described the technique of playing the instrument as “the player places the string between his lips and strikes it with a thin stick. Modifying the volume by altering the position of his lips, and of the tongue within the mouth cavity the musician creates different harmonics to produce a tune” (2000: 151). Rault included a photo of a Dan musician from the Ivory Coast and pointed out the position of the bow relative to the mouth as representative of the figure playing the bow as an instrument.

Musical bow, Dan, Ivory Coast, p.151.

In another connection between music and cave painting bone flutes have been excavated from deposits within caves that also possess cave paintings. It is no great stretch to imagine those flutes being played in a context of ceremonials in front of painted panels within the cave, although we cannot by any means prove that both the flute playing and the painted panels were involved in the same performance.

Paleolithic bone flutes,Isturitz, p.33.

Since we find the concept of music played in the context of rock art panels so interesting, we can probably assume that the prehistoric inhabitants of those regions would like the idea as well, and, since they had all the ingredients available – who knows?


Rault, Lucy
2000 Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York.