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Wonder rock art, journey to the origins

2020-02-17T09:02:42.766Z


Visit to 8 prehistoric sites from Lascaux to Valcamonica (ANSA)


BRESCIA - Mammoths, horses, stylized human figures, bows and arrows for hunting scenes and initiation rites: rock art is one of the oldest cultural forms, to be admired in caves and caves all over the world, from France to Italy, from India to Argentina. Over 200 sites, many of which are World Heritage Sites and can be visited, are kept in the old continent which is home to only half of the overall prehistoric rock art sites in the world.
Here are 8 places open to the public for a few visitors a day and at well-defined times, where you can admire the drawings and artistic engravings on a journey to the origins of man.

Lascaux . Renamed "the Sistine Chapel of prehistory" the cave was discovered by accident 80 years ago by a group of young people near the village of Montignac, in the Dordogne department. Today it is the most important rock art site in France, a temple of prehistoric times, included by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In 1963 the cave was closed to the public to preserve its treasures and a reproduction identical to the original was made to allow visitors to admire the artistic masterpiece it houses. Among the many cave figures stand out an anthropomorphic silhouette and the image of a bison more than 5 meters long, the largest animal figure of prehistoric art. Info: lascaux.fr

Altamira . Unesco heritage since 1985 the rock art caves of Altamira in Santillana, in the north-west of Spain, were discovered in 1879 but officially in 1902, the first ever to describe prehistoric art. Famous is the scene of the 21 bisons painted in relief on the ceiling; they inspired artists from all over the world, including the painter Pablo Picasso. The drawings, which date back to about 14 thousand years ago, represent bisons, deer, wild boars and horses, made with an ocher tint and outlined in black. Also in this case, to ensure the conservation of the engravings, the structure and the paintings were reproduced in an identical cave in the museum of Altamira. Info: museodealtamira.mcu.es

Valcamonica . It is the first Italian site included in 1979 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site: it consists of 140 thousand symbols and figures engraved in the rock of the Camonica Valley, in eastern Lombardy. Here, over an area of ​​70 kilometers, there is one of the largest collections of rock engravings in the world with drawings related to agriculture, navigation, war, hunting and even magic with symbolic geometric figures.
To enhance the rock art complex, 8 national archaeological parks have been set up - from Toline to the Passo del Tonale - and a museum of prehistory housed in the ancient building of Villa Agostani in the historic center of Capo di Ponte, in the province of Brescia. Info: vallecamonicaunesco.it

Cueva de las Manos . Along the Rio Pinturas in Patagonia, near the Argentine Perito Moreno, there is the cave of the hands, characterized by drawings of handprints even on six fingers dating back to almost 10 thousand years ago. Inside the site there are also depictions of South American animals - guanacos - and ostriches as well as abstract designs. The cave, which was included among the assets of Humanity in 1999, is located in the northwest of the province of Santa Cruz, in an archaeological area that can be easily visited but always with a guide, to be contacted on the site: cuevadelasmanos.org

Bhimbetka . It is an Unesco heritage archaeological site located within a forest of teak trees, about forty kilometers from Bhopal, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Here you can admire 760 cave shelters, of which about 500 with prehistoric paintings dating back to 30 thousand years ago. They represent hunting scenes and initiation rites with various human and animal figures; the geometric figures, however, date back to the Middle Ages. Among the most famous rocks stands out that of a red bison intent on attacking a stick figure, visible only when sunlight allows it; that's why you need to plan your visit well with a guide; info: mptourism.com

Chauvet . It is one of the most famous prehistoric rock art sites in the world, discovered in 1994 by the archaeologist Jean-Marie Chauvet in the French region of Ardeche, near the Pont-d'Arc. The cave, a World Heritage Site, houses rock art paintings made about 37 thousand years ago, depicting hunting scenes with numerous animals. Among these, a paleolithic painting drawn in black coal stands out, found in the Salle du Fond, the deepest area of ​​the cave. To protect the integrity of the site and offer the public the opportunity to visit this special place, in 2015 in Vallon-Pont-d'Arc a perfect reproduction of the cave was opened in front of the original, rebuilt with sophisticated computerized techniques. Info: https://archeologie.culture.fr

Magura . It is a hill in northwestern Bulgaria which contains one of the largest karst caves in the country, with numerous tunnels that stretch over two kilometers. Open to the public since 1961, one of the galleries houses engravings and graffiti attributed to the Neolithic, the Copper and Bronze Ages, made with bat guano and with the overlapping layers of paint that belong to the different historical periods. The drawings depict scenes of hunting, dancing and a great variety of animals, suns and stars; in a side room, that of the Sun, there is the representation of an annual calendar from the Copper Age. To visit the cave - every day from 9.30 to 18.30 - you have to reach the western area of ​​the Balkan mountains inside the Rabiša hill. Info: muzeibelogradchik.com

Kakadu . In Jabiru, within the largest national park in Australia, in the Northern Territory, there are almost 5 thousand Aboriginal rock art sites, hidden among rocky escarpments, rivers and inhospitable swamps. Among the most famous sites are those of Ubirr with engravings from various eras; of Nanguluwur with prehistoric period drawings and, to the south, for 1 kilometer and a half, those of Nourlangie or Burrungkuy, famous for the paintings of Namarrgom, the lightning man. On the rock walls you can admire carvings that demonstrate how the local Aborigines lived in the various eras. Info: https://northernterritory.com


Source: ansa

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