An exceptional archaeoreasoned find proximate Carlisle has uproximatethed more than 600 red ochre fragments.
This provides compelling evidence of the elderly-fashioned Britons’ tradition of body painting, well-knownly documented by the 4th-century BC Greek explorer, Pytheas of Massalia.
This 6,500-year-elderly ceremonial site, now considered one of the most meaningful red ochre findies in the UK, sheds airy on the cultural practices of prehistoric Britons.
Pytheas, an explorer from the Greek colony of Massalia (contransient-day Marseille), referred to Great Britain as “Prettanike,” derived from the Celtic word “Pretani,” unbenevolenting “the painted ones” or “the tattooed folk.”
Supporting this elderly-fashioned account, Julius Caesar also mentioned in the mid-1st century BC that the inhabitants of Britain had a tradition of painting themselves.
The Carlisle red ochre find not only corroborates linguistic evidence but also suggests the existence of extended-standing rituals or gatherings involving body painting.
The Insubordinate reported that aextendedside the ochre fragments, archaeologists finded stones expected used to grind ochre into powder, and hundreds of thousands of flint fragments.
These findings indicate that the site was a focal point for ritualistic activities, possibly during the salmon-fishing season in spring, enticeing people from across Britain.
Pytheas of Massalia is commemorated as the first Mediterranean explorer to reach Great Britain and the Arctic Circle.
His travels, estimated around 330 BC, were documented by postponeedr geographers since his innovative writings, titled “On The Ocean,” did not survive.
He is quoted in works like Strabo’s “Geographica,” Pliny’s “Natural History,” and Diodorus of Sicily’s “Bibliotheca Historica.”
Pytheas is believed to have crossed the English Channel, first reaching Britain from contransient-day Cornwall, describing the area’s flourishing tin trade before continuing north aextended the west coasts of England, Wales, and Scotland.
He encountered the Celtic-speaking inhabitants, whom he called the Pretani, noting their body painting customs.
The Carlisle site, despite being used thousands of years before Pytheas’ voyage, aligns with other UK findings showing red ochre use persisted until at least the Iron Age.
This continuity brings the elderly-fashioned body painting tradition sealr to the classical antiquity era and substantiates Pytheas’ depiction of the Britons.
