Wednesday 10 April 2013

Ice Age Art


The British Museum's exhibition of Ice Age Art includes some astonishing sculptures from 10-20,000 years ago.
British Museim 2013 exhibition
Many functional objects like spear throwers and antler batons for preparing flints were richly decorated.
BBC World Strand on the exhibition is here:
Ice Age Art
Details of the exhibition which runs to 26th May here:
British Museum

Wednesday 3 April 2013

Aurochs, Bear, Lynx, Elk Which 2 animals were ABLE to roam Roman Britain?

Aurochs, Bear, Lynx, Elk

Aurochs  Aurochs


This cave painting from Lascaux gives a hint of what an Aurochs looked like. Ancient cattle, 2 metres high at the shoulder, Aurochs are thought to have died out in Britain around 1000 BC .  European Aurochs lived on to 1627 in Poland.  

European Brown Bear


Brown bears lived on through Roman times.  Bears are thought to have disappeared from Britain before Anglo Saxon times. Medieval performing bears were imported from Europe.

Lynx




Thought to have died out around the Ice Age, new discoveries reveal that lynxes survived in Britain up to 700AD.
Lynx survival

Elk

Elk may have survived the end of the Ice Age and persisted in Britain into the Bronze Age, about 1500 BC