Archaeologists identify the first prehistoric figurative rock art in the Balkans

An international team, led by an archaeologist from the University of Southampton and the University of Bordeaux, has revealed the first example of Palaeolithic figurative rock art discovered on the Balkan Peninsula.

Dr Aitor Ruiz-Redondo worked with researchers from the Universities of Cantabria (Spain), Newfoundland (Canada), Zagreb (Croatia) and the Archaeological Museum of Istria (Croatia) to study the paintings, which may have up to 34,000 years ago.

The rock art was first discovered in 2010 at Romualdova Pe?ina (“Romuald’s Cave”) in Istria, Croatia, when Darko Komšo, director of the Archaeological Museum of Istria, noticed the existence of remains red in color in a deep part. of the cave.

Following its discovery, the team led by Dr Ruiz-Redondo and funded by the French state and the Archaeological Museum of Istria, with support from Natura Histrica, undertook a detailed analysis of the paintings and their archaeological context.

This made it possible to identify several figurative paintings, including a bison, an ibex and two possible anthropomorphic figures, confirming the Paleolithic age of the works. Furthermore, an excavation carried out in the ground beneath these paintings led to the discovery of numerous Paleolithic remains; a flint tool, an ocher pencil and several fragments of charcoal.

Radiocarbon dating of these objects shows an estimated age of around 17,000 years and other indirect data suggests that the paintings date from an even older period, around 34,000 to 31,000 years ago. Further research will be carried out to establish the precise age of the rock art.

The results are published in the journal antiquity.

This discovery expands the hitherto sparse record of Paleolithic art in Southeastern Europe. This makes Romualdova Pe?ina the first site where figurative rock art from the Paleolithic was discovered in this region. Along with Badanj in Bosnia and Herzegovina, these two sites constitute the only examples of rock art from the Paleolithic period in the Balkans.

Dr Aitor Ruiz-Redondo, British Academy-funded Newton International Fellow at the University of Southampton and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bordeaux, said: “The importance of this discovery is remarkable and sheds new light on the understanding of Paleolithic art. on the territory of Croatia and the Balkan Peninsula, as well as its relationship with simultaneous phenomena throughout Europe.

A new project launched by Dr Ruiz-Redondo and his team, funded by the British Academy, will see more research developed at these two sites over the coming years.