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NHM
Some of the lines seem abstract in nature, but some may represent faces and even animals
Fragments of stone engraving with abstract designs found in Jersey are the first 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 were scratched into small decorative tables, known as plaquettes; similar examples have been found in France, Spain and Portugal.
The 10 plaques were unveiled between 2014 and 2018 in Les Varines, Jersey.
Since the discoveries in the south-west of the island, scientists from the London Natural History Museum, the University of Newcastle and the University of York have analyzed the prehistoric markings.
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 straight lines more or less in parallel and longer, curved incisions. The two types of mark were probably produced by the same tool, in short succession – perhaps by the same engraver.
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Silvia Bello
Some possible interpretations of engravings on one of the plaques
Co-author Dr Silvia Bello, of the Natural History Museum, said: “Many of the lines, including the curved, concentric designs, appear to have been created by layers or repeated incisions, suggesting that they are unlikely to result. of the stones is used for a functional purpose.
She told BBC News that most were “of an abstract nature (simple crossing lines). However, some fragments seem to depict zoomorphic representations (horses, mammoths, a bovine and possibly a human face)”.
“On all fragments, these potential representations appear imprecise and simplified compared to other Magdalenian examples, and either support the hypothesis. These are chance arrangements under a system of representations, or that they were the product of inexhaustible engravings,” she explained.
The plaques were made by the Magdalenians, a culture of hunter-gatherers thought to have spread from Iberia (modern-day Spain and Portugal) and southern France to the height of the last ice age.
The Magdalenian era saw a flourishing of early art, from cave paintings and drawings to the furnishing of tools and weapons to engraving on stones and bones.
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The team digs Magdalenian brains – or campfires – at Les Varines in Jersey
Although Magdalenian settlements are known to have existed as far north-west as Britain, there were previously no such similar examples of artistic expression discovered in the British Isles from such an early period.
Dr Chantal Conneller, co-author of the University of Newcastle, said: “These engraved stone fragments provide exciting and rare evidence of artistic expression on what was the farthest edge of the Magdalenian world.
“The people in Les Varines have probably been pioneering colonizers of the region and creating engraved objects at new settlements may have been a way to create symbolic relationships with new places.”
Dr Bello said the artifacts were only of temporary significance because they were made on soft stone. “The action of engraving probably made a powder inside the strings that made them temporarily visible. This disappears quickly, which means that the engravings were only clearly visible at the time of their making.
She added: “The act of engraving, possibly the context and the moment when the engraving took place, were the significant components of the process instead of the object (the plaque) that was engraved.”
A more permanent form of artistic expression can be found in the spectacular cave paintings made by Magdalenians at Lascaux in southern France and Altamira in northern Spain.
The excavation site at Les Varines in Jersey is located just north of St Helier, at the head of a dry valley that descends to the sea.
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A cave painting by Magdalenian artists in Altamira, Northern Spain
Dr Ed Blinkhorn, co-author of University College London (UCL), said: “The plaques were difficult to select apart from the natural geology of the site – each stone needed turning. Their discovery included hearths, pits, paving , special tools, and thousands of flints show that making art was an important part of the Magdalenian pioneer tool, both at camp and inside caves. “
Three of the stone fragments from Jersey were recovered from an area of granite slabs that may have served as a countermeasure, marking that the plaques may have been engraved in a domestic context.
Dr Bello said it is possible that the Magdalenians at Les Varines used a pigment called ocher to decorate some plaques. “One plaque (LVE 4700), is not engraved, but presents a large stain (about 45x23mm) on its flat surface of a reddish color.
“Microscopically, the burnished surface appears smooth, covered with some dust likely in the original form liquid that has dried out. This area also has an elemental composition somewhat richer in iron.”
Although there is no conclusive evidence, she said: “It is possible that drops of an ocher liquid substance may have fallen on this stone when applied to another plaque.”
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