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British Rock Carvings

Engravings found in county cave

Engravings thought to be about 10,000 years old have been found in a North Somerset cave once used as a cemetery.

Bristol University's Speleological Society discovered the engravings recently in a cave in the Mendip Hills.

The inscribed crosses were found on the wall of Aveline's Hole in Burrington Combe, one of the earliest known cemeteries in the UK.

It was used for burials shortly after the end of the last ice age, during the early Mesolithic period.

Jill Cook, from the British Museum, said: "This is an exciting and important discovery.

"The few lines that form this panel are a signature from the period right at the end of the last ice age when the present period of warm climate was beginning.

"The pattern is comparable with others known from Northern France, Germany and Denmark."

The engravings were identified by Graham Mullan and Linda Wilson, who have spent much of the last 10 years studying Palaeolithic cave art.

They recently began a systematic search of caves in southern Britain in the belief that such works would not simply be confined to those found at Creswell Crags, on the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border.

The Creswell features are a little older at about 13,000 years and were first detailed by scientists in 2003.
They depict representations of bison, deer, bears, plus two or three species of bird; including one unusual bird head with a long, curved bill.

Mullan and Wilson are continuing their search of southern Britain and believe more works like those at Aveline's Hole will surface.

A further engraving has been noted in one of the caves in the Cheddar Gorge, and further investigations are being carried out to verify this.

However, for the vast majority of engravings, it is impossible to obtain any direct dating evidence, leaving stylistic comparisons and archaeological context the only means of reaching a conclusion on the possible age of any such markings.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/e ... 243787.stm
Published: 2005/02/07 14:45:47 GMT

© BBC MMV
Click to expand...
 
Does anybody know when the carvings in the walls of the Wycombe Caves occured? Is it something that was done to make it into a tourist attraction, or is the answer lost in time?
 
Ancient Engravings Found In Somerset Cave

Ancient Engravings Found In Somerset Cave

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 093351.htm

Two members of the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society have discovered an engraving in a cave in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, which may be at least 10,000 years old.

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Related section: Fossils & Ruins





Graham Mullan and Linda Wilson, who have spent much of the last ten years studying Palaeolithic cave art, recently began a systematic search of caves in southern Britain in the belief that such works in this country would not simply be confined to those found at Creswell Crags, Nottinghamshire.

The first results of this study are a series of inscribed crosses found on the wall of Aveline’s Hole in Burrington Combe, Somerset. Aveline’s Hole is famous as being the site of the earliest known cemetery in the British Isles. Recent work by Dr Rick Schulting and English Heritage shows that it was intensively used for burials shortly after the end of the last Ice Age, during the early Mesolithic period, and is this country’s oldest known cemetery.

Abstract designs such as this are commonly found in Mesolithic settings. Some do, however, date back to the Upper Palaeolithic cultures of the last Ice Age and although Upper Palaeolithic peoples also used this cave, the discoverers, assisted by Bristol University rock art specialist, Dr George Nash, and experts from the British Museum, believe that this engraving is more likely to be post Ice Age in date.

Jill Cook, Deputy Keeper in the Department of Prehistory and Europe at the British Museum, said: “This is an exciting and important discovery. The few lines that form this panel are a signature from the period right at the end of the last Ice Age when the present period of warm climate was beginning.

“The pattern is comparable with others known from Northern France, Germany and Denmark giving a wider context for the finds of this time and a rare glimpse of what may have been a rather special means of communication.”

Graham Mullan and Linda Wilson are continuing their search and believe more works of this type may well come to light in the other caves in the area used by Early Man. A further engraving has been noted in one of the caves in the Cheddar Gorge, and further investigations are being carried out to verify this.

However, for the vast majority of engravings, it is impossible to obtain any direct dating evidence, leaving stylistic comparisons and archaeological context the only means of reaching a conclusion on the possible age of any such markings.

A gate has been installed in the cave to protect the engraving, after consultations between English Heritage and other interested parties, including the landowner and English Nature.

A full account of the discovery has been published in the Proceedings of The University of Bristol Spelaeological Society, volume 23 (2). This is available via the Sales Manager, email [email protected]. The Society was founded in 1919 in order to bring a scientific approach to the study of caves and their contents and one of its first projects was the excavation of Aveline’s Hole, which continued throughout the 1920s.

Editor's Note: The original news release can be found here:
http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2005/622
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Quixote said:
'Sistine Chapel of the Ice Age'

An English cave has been described as the "Sistine Chapel of the Ice Age" after the discovery of 80 engraved figures in its limestone ceiling.
The discovery at Creswell Crags was announced on Tuesday. [...]
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

an update on the Creswell Crags artwork

Experts put date to UK rock art

Experts have dated the UK's oldest rock art, at Creswell Crags in the midlands, to more than 12,800 years ago.

A team from Bristol, Sheffield and Open Universities got the date by measuring traces of radioactive uranium in limestone crusts over the engravings.

More than 80 pictures have now been discovered in the caves on the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border.

The research is to be published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Hunter-gatherers

The complex of caves at Creswell Crags has preserved evidence of human activity during the last Ice Age.

Archaeologists announced the discovery of the engravings, on the walls and ceilings of the caves, in 2003.

The pictures depict animals such as the European bison, which is now extinct from Britain, and other figures.

Artefacts left by Ice Age hunter-gatherers excavated from Creswell's caves have been dated to 13,000-15,000 years old.

The new results indicate the art may have been left by the people who made these artefacts.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/e ... 476303.stm
Published: 2005/04/25 17:37:50 GMT

© BBC MMV
Click to expand...

Cresswell Crags- Home of the Ice Age Hunter
 
A new website for England's Rock Art...

Amongst the outcrops and boulders of northern England keen eyes may spot an array of mysterious symbols carved into the rock surfaces. These curious marks vary from simple, circular hollows known as 'cups' to more complex patterns with cups, rings, and intertwining grooves. Many are in spectacular, elevated locations with extensive views but some are also found on monuments such as standing stones and stone circles, or within burial mounds. The carvings were made by Neolithic and Early Bronze Age people between 3500 and 6000 years ago. The original meaning of the symbols is now lost but they provide a unique personal link with our prehistoric ancestors.

These fascinating carvings are threatened by a combination of human and natural factors; many have already weathered away or been lost to activities such as quarrying. We urgently need to record and conserve these ancient marks so they can be studied and enjoyed by future generations. England's Rock Art database (ERA) is a major step towards that goal. ERA currently covers the counties of Northumberland and County Durham, which both have major concentrations of rock art. It is intended that it will one day provide a record for all of England's rock art.

We hope that the ERA website will promote greater enjoyment of rock art; inspire new understanding of this intriguing archaeological material; encourage direct involvement with the recording process; and inform effective management and conservation of a unique cultural resource.
Click to expand...

England's Rock Art
 
Blimey!

having tried to photograph some of these myself, I know how tricky they are to get. There are some great photos in there.
 
Ice Age engravings found at Jersey archaeological site
By Jonathan Webb Science reporter, BBC News

A dig in Jersey has yielded a stash of hunter-gatherer artefacts from the end of the last Ice Age, including stone pieces criss-crossed by carved lines.
They are similar to engravings found from the same period in Germany and southern France.

Archaeologists are in the early stages of analysing the finds, but estimate them to be at least 14,000 years old.
This places the camp among the earliest in northern Europe after the coldest period of the Ice Age.
It would also mean that the markings pre-date the earliest known art in the UK, which was found carved into stone walls and bones at Creswell Crags in Derbyshire in 2003.
However, the team wants to study the engravings more closely and hopefully find more of them, before making any grand claims.

Dr Chantal Conneller is co-director of the Ice Age Island project, which for five years has been working on the Les Varines site in the south east area of Jersey. She told the BBC: "We're feeling reasonably confident at the moment that what we've got fits into this broader idea of non-representational Magdalenian art."
The Magdalenians were one of several hunter-gatherer cultures which gradually re-colonised Europe as the ice retreated, 16,000 to 13,000 years ago.
Stone fragments like these, apparently from smashed-up larger tablets covered in repeated lines, are known from Magdalenian camps in France and Germany.
"We're hoping this is a hint of what is to come, because at some of the German sites you get hundreds of these pieces. What we've got at the moment is only a fragment of something much larger," said Dr Conneller, a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34679202
 
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