Striped rock dismissed as natural in 1928 reclassified as UK’s oldest cave art

The painted panel pictured in 1913 (left) and 2024. Photograph: George Nash View image in fullscreen The painted panel pictured in 1913 (left) and 2024. Photograph: George Nash Striped rock dismissed as natural in 1928 reclassified as UK’s oldest cave art Scientific dating proves streaks on walls of Bacon Hole, near the Mumbles in south Wales, is Palaeolithic rock art In 1912, the Guardian reported on the discovery of Palaeolithic rock art on the walls of Bacon Hole, a cave near the Mumbles in south Wales – only for the painted panel’s authenticity to be dismissed by 1928. A series of horizontal bands in red pigment were subsequently deemed no more than a natural phenomenon and the newspaper added an updated statement : “It was later established that the red streaks … turned out to be red oxide mineral seeping through the rock and not prehistoric art.” But the original report has now been proved correct by new analysis. Archaeologists have used the latest scientific means to date the rock art, discovering that it was in fact created 17,100 years ago – making it the oldest example in Britain as well as north-western Europe. Dr George Nash, a British specialist in prehistoric art who headed an international team that conducted the new research, said: “This is the earliest prehistoric art we have in Britain. “It was never considered to be rock art after 1928, and also it could never be dated, because in those days they didn’t have the scientific means that we have today. “We’ve used uranium-thorium dating for the pigments. We’ve got data 17,100 years before present, which makes it the oldest rock art in the British Isles. I was taken aback that we were able to date it and analyse the pigments. This is an exciting rediscovery, significant in understanding what was going on in Wales in the deep past.” View image in fullscreen William Sollas. Photograph: George Nash View image in fullscreen Henri Breuil. Photograph: Courtesy of George Nash The initial discovery was made by professors William Sollas and Henri Breuil in 1912, when it was hailed as “the first specimen of prehistoric cave painting ever discovered in England”. The full extent of the imagery was not understood, partly because, in 1894, a local fisher had painted graffiti on the other side of the chamber. Archaeometric analysis has now revealed a mix of calcite, consistent with the limestone geology of the region, and clay residues within a “pigment recipe”. The academics concluded: “Based on both field observations … and laboratory examination of the pigment samples, it is evident that the pigmented lines were intentionally created by human agency, rather than resulting from natural processes.” They added: “Based on the evidence … we concur with the original interpretation proposed by Breuil and Sollas in 1912 … The painted lines are arranged horizontally and are equidistant from one another, indicating a deliberate and structured pattern.” The paint was also applied by finger, the research