Why This Chalk Drum Is Being Called The 'Most Important Piece Of British Prehistoric Art’ Found In A Century

The chalk sculpture found to be 5,000 years old will be opened to the public as part of the British Museum’s The world of Stonehenge exhibition beginning on February 17.

A handout picture released by the British Museum in London on February 10, 2022 shows the Burton Agnes chalk drum, chalk ball and bone pin, dating from between 3005BC to 2890BC, discovered on a country estate near the village of Burton Agnes in East Yorkshire | Photo: AFP

New Delhi: An archeological discovery made in 2015 near the village of Burton Agnes in East Yorkshire has now been labelled as the “most important piece of British pre-historic art” found in the last century. The chalk sculpture found to be 5,000 years old will be opened to the public as part of the British Museum’s The world of Stonehenge exhibition beginning on February 17, The Art Newspaper reported.

The intricate sculpture was unearthed by Allen Archeology during a routine excavation, according to the report.

“The sculpture is decorated with elaborate motifs that reaffirms a British and Irish artistic style that flourished at exactly the same time as Stonehenge was built,” British Museum was quoted as saying in a press release.

The 5,000-Year-Old Sculpture

According to the report, the artefact looks similar to the three Folkton drums found earlier in Yorkshire. These were three solid chalk, drum-shaped objects that were buried with a five-year-old child around 5,000 years ago in Yorkshire’s Bording Dale area. 

According to the British Museum website, the drums were believed to be talismans meant to protect children as they were “carefully arranged behind the child, touching the hip and head, perhaps to guard or protect the body”. It said the position of the drums may have been significant, “representing the world and people the child had left behind”.

The Burton Agnes drum was also found in a grave that was holding the remains of three children. It was placed at the head of a grave.

“To my mind, the Burton Agnes drum is even more intricately carved [than the Folkton drums] and reflects connections between communities in Yorkshire, Stonehenge, Orkney and Ireland,” Neil Wilkin, the curator of The world of Stonehenge at the British Museum, was quoted as saying. 

He said an analysis of its carvings would help to decipher the symbolism and beliefs of the Stonehenge era. At the British Museum, people will be able to see this pre-historical object for the first time, "alongside 430 other ancient items telling the spectacular story of Stonehenge and the vibrant world in which it was built", Wilkin said.