Cave art trove found in Spain 1,000 feet underground

[WhiteTara]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/spain-cave-art-trove-found-1-000-feet-144318822.html?nhp=1


Cave art trove found in Spain 1,000 feet underground

CIARAN GILES
May 27, 2016

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This image released by the Diputacion Floral de Bizkaia on Friday May 27, 2016, shows a cave drawing. Spanish archaeologists say they have discovered an exceptional set of Paleolithic-era cave drawings that could rank among the best in a country that already boasts some of the world's most important cave art. Chief site archaeologist Diego Garate said Friday that an estimated 70 drawings were found on ledges 300 meters (1,000 feet) underground in the Atxurra cave, Berriatua, in the northern Basque region. He described the site as being in "the Champions' League" of cave art, among the top 10 sites in Europe. (Diputacion Floral de Bizkaia/Source via AP)
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MADRID (AP) — Spanish archaeologists say they have discovered an exceptional set of Paleolithic-era cave drawings that could rank among the best in a country that already boasts some of the world's most important cave art.

Chief site archaeologist Diego Garate said Friday that an estimated 70 drawings were found on ledges 300 meters (1,000 feet) underground in the Atxurra cave in the northern Basque region. He described the site as being in "the Champions' League" of cave art, among the top 10 sites in Europe. The engravings and paintings feature horses, buffalo, goats and deer, dating back 12,500-14,500 years ago.

But Garate said access to the area is so difficult and dangerous it's not likely to be open to the public.

The cave was discovered in 1929 and first explored in 1934-35, but it was not until 2014 that Garate and his team resumed their investigations that the drawings were discovered. Experts say while it's too early to say if the discovery ranks alongside Spain's most prize prehistoric cave art site, the Altamira Caves — known as the Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic Art — Atxurra looks promising.

"No one expected a discovery of this magnitude," said Jose Yravedra, a prehistory professor at Madrid's Complutense Univesrsity. "There a lot of caves with drawings but very few have this much art and this much variety and quality."

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/E.rL2xKbdw9uk8RJrxGajw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9MTI4MDtoPTk2MA--/

[saltpoint]

1. Wonderful. eom

[Igel]

2. But the image is enhanced.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/may/27/spanish-archaeologists-discover-cave-art-axturra-paleolithic

The drawings were scratched into the wall, so that what looks like a nice line is actually a bundle of scratches in the rock. Harder to see.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

3. Thanks for clarifying the Opening Post, which I thought was fake, until I read your link

[Ghost in the Machine]

5. The first picture, with the guy in the blue hard hat, you can plainly see 2 horses...

The second set, which they say are bison, look totally different to me. The first one looks like a stand of trees, or maybe a village of teepees, and the second one looks like a big cat, or a wolf, taking down another animal by the side of the neck. At least that's what *I* saw when I opened it in paint shop pro... I could be wrong... wouldn't be the first time... but thanks for the link, Igel.

Peace,

Ghost

[Recursion]

7. A friend of mine is a rock art professor

She once said the field has a lunatic core and a professional fringe. Anyways, she talks a lot about that: most surviving paleolithic art is engravings, which even after literally decades of study can be difficult to identify conclusively. In many cases they can actually figure out the sequemce in which the lines were carved, which can help a lot, but still always leaves some questions.

[saltpoint]

6. Of course. i'm impressed with the discovery

of ancient art.

[Fumesucker]

4. Unknowns while they lived, now they are gonna be