Tuesday 14 August 2012

Cave Art


One of the real benefits of the internet is how easy it is to research anything which catches personal interest.

It was in the late 80s I heard about the Altamira Paleolithic cave paintings and nearly 20 years before I managed to view them in their slightly remote location in northern Spain. It was a day I will never forget; not only because of the intriguing and mysterious paintings, but I was astonished I managed to stay in the cave for a few hours rather than the few minutes I expected.  Caves aren't comfortable environments for sufferers of claustrophobia but the way in which Altamira was designed for visitors, was way beyond my expectations.

My claustrophobia is mild compared with the severity many others suffer and that day I spoke with a Canadian chap who was obviously struggling to leave the 'security' of the entrance.  He was determined to accompany his son (who was in the throes of studying cave paintings and carving) and showed great courage even buying a ticket.

When I read this I thought of the Canadian and his son and wondered if the son had ever heard of Well Cave.  I hadn't until now.  Parts of Perthshire are famous for Pictish stones but cave carvings are even more exciting.

So Wells Cave in now on my list of 'things to do' and follows closely behind a visit to Dunblane to view Andy Murray's postbox. I'm waiting until I have confirmation that the Royal Mail have repainted it after souvenir hunters chipped off most of the paint in the last fortnight.  Maybe they were as frustrated as me with the Royal Mail's service.  I ordered some Andy Murray Olympic stamps online the morning after he won his gold medal.  The website states delivery will be within 3 to 5 working days. Day six was yesterday and still no sign of the package.

4 comments:

Demetrius said...

In all the DNA researching, has anyone come up with a possible DNA for the Picts? Could the male Y chromosome be mostly similar to that of the Saami?

subrosa said...

I remember some years ago reading that Dundee and Glasgow universities were investigating the DNA Demetrius, so must have a look and see if I can find anything about it.

In this area there is great interest in Pictish artifacts, but I've not heard anyone mention up to date research.

Barney Thomson said...

"One of the real benefits of the internet is how easy it is to research anything which catches personal interest"

Couldn't agree more. For instance -

http://www.stormfront.org/forum/t495748/

So, Demetrius, unlikely to be a lot of Saami DNA in Pictish backgrounds as the dominant halotype is R1b, which is much rarer in Saami populations.

[Pity the articles' first 3 maps need you to be a member of some ancestry research site, but the rest of the article and comments are quite interesting]

subrosa said...

Super link Barney. I'll check it out more thoroughly tomorrow when I'm not half asleep. :)

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