Nash et al., Quaternary (2026)The cave painting found at Bacon Hole. The panel on the left shows the original painting, while the image on the right has been enhanced.More than a century ago, a group of researchers came across a set of red markings in Bacon Hole, a cave in South Wales. They postulated that the markings were cave art, but others scholars disagreed. Over time, most agreed that the markings were natural formations. However, a recent study of the markings has now revealed that the original theory was correct.Using modern-day technology to study the markings, a new set of researchers has concluded that they are, in fact, cave art. Whats more, the markings in Bacon Hole were made roughly 17,000 years ago, making them the oldest known rock art ever found anywhere in the British Isles.The Cave Markings Found In Wales That Proved To Be The British Isles Oldest Rock ArtAccording to a new study published in Quaternary, the story of the prehistoric cave markings began back in 1912, when a group of researchers first discovered them. These researchers believed that they were cave art, but their conclusion was largely dismissed. It took a new set of researchers, who returned to the cave in 2022, to finally prove the original theory correct.Nash et al., Quaternary (2026)The entrance of Bacon Hole cave in Wales, where the cave markings were first documented in 1912.These researchers returned to Bacon Hole cave, which is set deep in the limestone cliffs of the Gower Peninsula in South Wales. After rediscovering the markings their exact location had been lost to time they applied modern-day technology to determine whether the markings were part of a natural formation or a rare example of Upper Paleolithic cave art.They found that the markings, which appear as ten horizontal lines, contained hematite, an iron-rich mineral that prehistoric people are known to have used to make art. The researchers also concluded that the markings were far too uniform to be a natural formation, and the traces of pigment splashes and finger marks within the cave suggest that prehistoric people handled the pigment. The markings, thus, appear to be rock art.Whats more, the markings appear to represent an incredibly old instance of rock art. Using uranium-thorium dating, researchers determined that the drawings were between 18,300 and 15,700 years old, making it the oldest known rock art in the British Isles.Nash et al., Quaternary (2026)Researchers studied the cave markings and determined that theyd been made in a uniform pattern, using a pigment that prehistoric people used elsewhere to make art.But why was this art created here, what does it mean, and how did prehistoric people make use of Bacon Hole cave?The Long And Murky History Of Bacon Hole CaveAt the time that the cave paintings were made, Wales looked very different than it does today. According to the researchers, the red horizontal markings were left in Bacon Hole shortly after a severe cold phase. At this time, the climate was shifting from a near-uninhabitable frozen landscape to a treeless periglacial environment with sparse vegetation.Nash et al., Quaternary (2026)Bacon Hole Cave was seemingly occupied, on and off, for thousands of years.Given these conditions, Bacon Hole cave likely served as suitable habitation sites for hunter-fisher-gatherer groups, though no strong evidence of their presence, aside from the rock art, has been found. Nor are researchers sure what the rock art could symbolize. The ten horizontal lines left deep within the cave could have been a form of communication, a way of recording an event, a system of marking visits, or something else entirely.But what is clear is that Bacon Hole was used by a variety of people as time marched on. Past archaeological excavations at the cave have turned up evidence of Iron Age ceramics, a Roman-British bone pin, an Irish brooch from the 7th century C.E., and several Saxon-style beads, as well as artifacts from the Norman period and the Middle Ages.Now, the cave markings at Bacon Hole cave can be counted as part of this heritage. Dismissed as a natural formation for more than a century, its now clear that the red marks were purposefully made by prehistoric people. While their meaning remains murky, they offer a faint link between our present day and the lives of prehistoric people some 17,000 years ago.After reading about the 17,000-year-old cave paintings found in Wales, look through these photos of some of the worlds most stunning caves. Then, go inside Hang Son Doong cave, the largest cave in the world.The post Archaeologists Just Identified 17,000-Year-Old Cave Drawings That Are The Oldest Rock Art Ever Found In The British Isles appeared first on All That's Interesting.