Archaeologists discover Britain’s first cave paintings
The first examples of prehistoric cave art in Britain have been found at Church Hole cave, Creswell Crags, Derbyshire (England). Estimated at 12,000 years old, the depictions appear to be of a crane or swan, a bird of prey, and an ibex - an animal not previously thought to have existed in Britain. The engraving may record a rare sighting of an ibex that had strayed from south west Europe at a time when Britain was joined to the continent.
The discovery, by Pal Bahn, Paul Pettit and Spanish colleague Sergio Ripoll, fills a major gap in the country’s archaeological record. Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum, London, says: “If this is verified, it represents a wonderful discovery. There are fine examples of cave art in Spain and France but none has been found here until now.” The best preserved examples are the horses and rhinos painted on the cave walls at Lascaux and Chauvet (France) and Altamira (Spain). The Church Hole engravings are similar in style to this continental cave art from the palaeolithic period. The total absence, so far, of other examples in Britain is attributed to climatic deterioration.
It is believed that sites of this kind contributed to the creation of a ritual ambience that played a key role in rites of passage and the strengthening of tribal bonds.
Source: Guardian Unlimited (15 June 2003)
Ancient sacrifice site found in China
A pit believed to be used for ritual sacrifice has been unearthed by archaeologists at the largest and best preserved ancient village in China. The pit, named Jisikeng, was discovered at the new Banpo Site Museum (Xi’an, West China) and is expected to provide evidence of the sacrificial activities of the Banpo people, who lived 5,000 years ago.
At the centre of the pit was a 70 cm high columnar stone object, buried to a depth of 20 cm. Two smaller pits and columnar groundwork relics were found in the same area, with more than 40 walnut sized earthenware articles piled in each of the pits. The stone columns, named Jizizhu, were used to commune with gods and spirits.
The site was discovered in 1953 and the Banpo Site Museum began development in 1958.
Source: Xinhua News Agency (9 June 2003)
