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NHM
Some of the lines appear to be abstract in nature, but some may represent faces and even animals
The stone fragments engraved with abstract patterns found in Jersey are the earliest known art in the British Isles, researchers say.
They were made by hunter-gatherers who lived between 23,000 and 14,000 years ago.
The designs have been scratched in small ornamental tablets called plaques; similar examples have been found in France, Spain and Portugal.
The 10 platelets were unearthed in Varines, Jersey, between 2014 and 2018.
Since the discoveries in the southwest of the island, scientists from the Natural History Museum in London, the University of Newcastle and the University of York have analyzed the prehistoric marks.
The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Plos One, now believe they represent the first evidence of artistic expression in the British Isles.
The designs consist of more or less parallel straight lines and longer curved incisions. Both types of marks were probably produced by the same tools, in short succession – perhaps by the same engraver.
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Silvia bello
Some possible interpretations of engravings on one of the plates
Co-author Dr Silvia Bello, of the Natural History Museum, said: “Many lines, including the curved and concentric designs, appear to have been made by layered or repeated incisions, suggesting that it is unlikely to result from stones used for functional purposes.
She told BBC News that most were “abstract in nature (simple crisscrossing lines), however, some fragments appear to represent zoomorphic representations (horses, mammoths, a bovid and possibly a human face)”.
“On all the fragments, these potential representations appear imprecise and simplified in comparisons with other Magdalenian examples, supporting either the hypothesis that they are random arrangements within a system of representations, or that they were the product of inexperienced engravers, ”she explains.
The pads were made by the Magdalenians, a hunter-gatherer culture that is said to have developed outside the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) and southern France after the peak of the last Ice Age.
The Magdalenian era saw the flourishing of primitive art, from cave paintings and drawings to the decoration of tools and weapons to stone and bone engraving.
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NHM
The team excavates Magdalenian hearths – or campfires – at Varines in Jersey
Although the Magdalenian settlements are known to have existed as far north-west as Great Britain, no similar example of artistic expression had been found in the British Isles at such an ancient time.
Dr Chantal Conneller, co-author of the University of Newcastle, said: “These carved stone fragments provide exciting and rare evidence of artistic expression at what was the far edge of the Magdalenian world.
“The people of the Varines were probably pioneering colonizers of the region and the creation of carved objects in new settlements may have been a way of creating symbolic relationships with new places.”
Dr Bello said the artifacts may have only temporary significance, as they were made out of soft stone. “The action of the etching probably created a powder in the incisions that made them temporarily visible. This disperses quickly, meaning the engravings were only clearly visible when they were made.
She added: “The act of engraving, perhaps the context and when the engraving took place, were the significant components of the process rather than the object (the wafer) that had been engraved.”
A more permanent form of artistic expression can be found in the spectacular cave paintings created by the Magdalenians at Lascaux in southern France and Altamira in northern Spain.
The Varines sur Jersey excavation site is located just north of St Helier, at the head of a dry valley leading down to the sea.
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A rock painting created by Magdalenian artists in Altamira, northern Spain
Dr Ed Blinkhorn, co-author of University College London (UCL), said: “The wafers were difficult to separate from the natural geology of the site – every stone had to be turned. Their discovery among hearths, pits, the paving, specialized tools, and thousands of flints show that artistic creation was an important part of the toolbox of Magdalenian pioneers, both in the camp and in the caves. “
Three of the Jersey stone fragments had been recovered from an area of granite slabs that could have served as paving, highlighting that the plaques could have been carved in a domestic context.
Dr Bello said that it is possible that the Magdalenians of Varines used a pigment called ocher to decorate some platelets. “A plaque (LVE 4700), is not engraved, but has a large spot (approximately 45x23mm) on its flat surface of a reddish color.
“Under a microscope, the stained surface appears smooth, covered with a substance that is probably liquid in its original form which has dried. This area also has a slightly richer elemental composition in iron.”
Although there is no unequivocal evidence, she said: “It is possible that drops of a liquid substance rich in ocher fell on this stone during application to another wafer.”
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