New Light On Prehistoric Chalk Plaques From Stonehenge Using Innovative Technology

Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Four rare Late Neolithic chalk plaques from the Stonehenge region have been subjected to non-invasive Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) technology in a new study by experts from WesSєx Archaeology, which has shed light on previously unseen artistic elements used during the ‘golden age’ of Neolithic chalk art.

New Light On Prehistoric Chalk Plaques From Stonehenge Using Innovative Technology

Credit: Public Domain

The plaques are considered by archaeologists to be among the most spectacular examples of Prehistoric engraved chalk in Britain. Discovered between 1968 and 2017 within 5km of one another in a cluster around Stonehenge, they have been the subject of extensive study – most notably Plaques 1 and 2 found during the A303 road-widening in the Chalk Plaque Pit in 1968.

Bob Davis, formerly Senior Project Officer at WesSєx Archaeology and principal author of the study, said: “The Chalk Plaque Pit, discovered in 1968, was one of the most important discoveries of Late Neolithic chalk art in Britain, and over the last five decades we have seen additional plaques discovered from the Stonehenge region which have aided the study.

Previously, the chalk plaques were documented using hand-drawn illustrations and were difficult to reconstruct due to erosion. However, the advancement of revolutionary technology has made it possible to understand previously unseen features of the plaques, which help us to understand the creative process of these Prehistoric artists.”

New Light On Prehistoric Chalk Plaques From Stonehenge Using Innovative Technology

Plaque 1 upper face showing details and features under RTI. Credit: © WesSєx Archaeology

Experts from WesSєx Archaeology carried out the new RTI study to review the plaques’ manufacture, origins and artistic influences. RTI is a pH๏τographic method that captures a subject’s shape and color to reveal surface information invisible under normal examination. Images are created from multiple pH๏τographs of a subject, where each sH๏τ is taken with light projected from a different direction to produce varying highlights and shadows. WesSєx Archaeology uses RTI for detailed analysis of delicate objects requiring little or no handling, ᴀssisting in their conservation.

The RTI highlighted a range of artistic abilities in the predominately geometric designs on each plaque, demonstrating not only deliberate, staged composition, execution and detail, but also providing an insight into the inspiration of the Neolithic artists. In one instance, it is possible to suggest that the designs were not abstract but, rather, drew on objects known to the artist in the real world.

Dr. Matt Leivers, A303 Consultant Archaeologist at WesSєx Archaeology who also co-authored the new study, said: One of the most interesting results of this new study is the way in which the application of modern technology to ancient artefacts has allowed us not only a better understanding of the working methods of the Neolithic artists, but also a rare glimpse into their motivations and mindsets.”

New Light On Prehistoric Chalk Plaques From Stonehenge Using Innovative Technology

Plaque 1 upper face showing details and features under RTI. Credit: © WesSєx Archaeology

The study has hinted that the adoption of these artistic styles may have been integrated into elements of existing Middle Neolithic culture. Engraved chalk objects can be traced throughout the Neolithic period; however, the concentration of this distinctive composition during the Late Neolithic period may mark it as a truly golden age for the manufacture of chalk art in Britain.

See also: More Archaeology News

Dr. Phil Harding, Archaeologist at WesSєx Archaeology who also co-authored the new study and examined these unique plaques in 1988 before accurate radiocarbon or technological methods were available, said: “Chalk has provided an attractive material for engraving for countless generations. It offers surfaces that can be smoothed, allowing designs to be sketched, reworked, altered or erased accordingly.

Engraved chalk plaques were an important cultural marker in the Neolithic period. Utilizing the advancement of pH๏τographic techniques, it is possible to suggest that Neolithic artists used objects known to them in the real world as inspiration for their artistic expression, for example, in the representation of twisted cord which formed part of the design on Plaque 1.”

Full research paper

Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer

Related Posts

Andalusia Was First Inhabited By Neolithic People From The Southern Part Of The Iberian Peninsula 6,200 Years Ago

Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – The island of San Fernando, Cadiz in Andalusia, was home to the first Neolithic farmers and shepherds who decided to permanently settle there around 6,200 years ago. They practised shellfish collection and consumption all year round, with a preference for winter. Location of Campo de Hockey site in southern Iberian […]

Unknown Bronze Age Settlement Discovered Accidentally In Heimberg, Switzerland

Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Sometimes, when archaeologists look for one thing, they find something entirely different. This is exactly what happened in Switzerland when researchers were excavating, hoping to find an ancient Roman brick workshop, but they unearthed a previously unknown Bronze Age settlement instead. The excavation in Heimberg, on the right edge of […]

Unexplained Mystery Of The Dangerous Invisible And Unidentifiable Enemy In A French Town

Unexplained Mystery Of The Dangerous Invisible Enemy In A French Town

Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – It was an ordinary day in a small, sleepy town in France. There were no indications anything strange was about to happen. Yet, an inexplicable and extraordinary event left the unsuspecting residents completely bewildered and unsure of what was unfolding. The situation that unfolded was indeed unusual, if not bizarre. […]

Rare 2,800-Year-Old ᴀssyrian Scarab Amulet Found In Lower Galilee

Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Erez Avrahamov, a 45-year-old inhabitant of Peduel, made an incredible discovery while hiking in the Tabor Stream Nature Reserve located in Lower Galilee. He stumbled upon an ancient seal shaped like a scarab that dates back to the First Temple period. Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority This ancient artifact is as […]

Dinas Powys: Late ‘Antique Hillfort Phenomenon’ In Post-Roman Western Britain

Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – Dinas Powys, Glamorgan, located about 9km southwest of Cardiff, is a small inland fort of approximately 0.35ha. The hillfort was first excavated by a team of archaeologists led by Leslie Alcock from 1954 through to 1958. The site is often referenced as a prime example of elite settlements in post-Roman […]

Puzzling Vasconic Inscription On Ancient Irulegi Hand Resembles Basque Language

Puzzling Vasconic Inscription On Ancient Irulegi Hand Resembles Basque Language

Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – A few years ago, archaeologists excavating an Iron Age site known as Irulegi in northern Spain discovered a flat bronze artifact shaped like a human hand. After careful cleaning, they found it bore inscriptions of words from a Vasconic language. This language family includes Basque and several other languages that […]