Earliest art in the British Isles discovered on Jersey

Fragments of stone engraved with abstract designs found on Jersey are the earliest known art in the British Isles, researchers have found.

They were made by hunter-gatherers who lived between 23,000 and 14,000 years ago.

The designs were scratched into small ornamental tablets known as plaquettes; similar examples have been found in France, Spain and Portugal, BBC News reports.

The 10 plaquettes were unearthed at Les Varines, Jersey, between 2014 and 2018.

Since the discoveries in the south-east of the island, scientists from London's Natural History Museum, the University of Newcastle and University of York have been analysing the prehistoric markings.

The researchers, who have published their findings in the journal Plos One, now believe they represent the earliest evidence of artistic expression in the British Isles.

The designs consist of straight lines more or less in parallel and longer, curved incisions. The two types of mark were probably produced by the same tools, in short succession - perhaps by the same engraver.