Red stripes declared U.K.’s oldest art after being dismissed as a natural phenomenon

EuropeRed stripes declared U.K.’s oldest art after being dismissed as a natural phenomenonThe horizontal lines of red pigment are evenly spaced and arranged in a way that suggests “a deliberate and structured pattern,” according to a study. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00A color enhancement, right, shows red stripes on a wall in Bacon Hole, a cave in Wales.Courtesy of George Harold NashShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 1, 2026, 8:53 AM EDTBy Elmira AliievaLONDON — Dismissed as a natural phenomenon for more than a century, red stripes on a rock in Wales have been found to be the oldest known prehistoric art in Britain and northwestern Europe — created by human fingers 17,100 years ago, according to new research. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.An international team of scientists revisited Bacon Hole, a cave near Mumbles in South Wales, to re-examine the series of red-pigmented horizontal stripes on a panel first discovered there in 1912. The markings were initially identified as prehistoric art in 1912 by Professor William Sollas and Henri Breuil but were later dismissed as a natural phenomenon caused by mineral deposits seeping through the rock, the study said.“Overlooked and unrecognized, the panel existed as little more than a historical footnote, forgotten by the archaeological community,” George Harold Nash, an archeologist and specialist in prehistoric art who led the research team, told NBC News via email.The entrance of Bacon Hole in Wales.Courtesy George Harold NashMore than a century later, the original interpretation has been proven correct.In a study published Monday in the journal Quaternary, Nash and other multidisciplinary scientists from the First-Art team concluded that “it is evident that the pigmented lines were intentionally created by human agency, rather than resulting from natural processes.” This makes the once-overlooked red stripes the oldest known example...