SOUTH GOWER — New scientific analysis has reclassified markings in Bacon Hole cave in south Wales as human-made Palaeolithic rock art created approximately 17,100 years ago, making it the oldest known rock art in Britain and north-western Europe. The findings overturn a long-standing dismissal of the markings’ authenticity and confirm their prehistoric origin through advanced dating methods.
In 1912, professors William Sollas and Henri Breuil discovered the markings on the cave walls and hailed them as “the first specimen of prehistoric cave painting ever discovered in England.” However, by 1928, the painted panel was dismissed as natural mineral deposits—red oxide seeping through the rock—rather than human-made art. For nearly a century, the site was not considered genuine rock art.
Dr. George Nash, a Welsh-born associate professor at the Geosciences Centre of Coimbra University and honorary research fellow at the University of Liverpool, led an international research team that applied uranium-thorium dating to the pigments. “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 in understanding what was going on in Wales in the deep past,” Nash said.
Archaeometric analysis confirmed the pigment consists of calcite consistent with local limestone and clay residues, forming a deliberate “pigment recipe.” The paint was applied by finger, and the lines are arranged horizontally and equidistant from one another, indicating a structured pattern. “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,” researchers stated. 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 research, published in the journal Quaternary, involved collaboration between First Art and academics from the universities of Southampton and Swansea, with support from the National Trust and the Bradshaw Foundation. Bacon Hole, located in the limestone cliffs of south Gower overlooking the Bristol Channel, is not currently a scheduled monument, but archaeologists argue it should be. The National Trust of Wales, which holds custodianship of the cave, will officially announce the findings. Around 17,100 years ago, the region was emerging from a severe glacial phase, and the Bristol Channel area likely supported migratory megafauna, making nearby caves like Bacon Hole suitable for hunter-fisher-gatherer groups.