January 24, 2011
January 21, 2010
Pictograph, or Ancient Art…
According to Wikipedia, “A pictograph (also called pictogram or pictogramme) is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Earliest examples of pictographs include ancient or prehistoric drawings or paintings found on rock walls.” While the “pictograph” in this photo does exist on a slab of rock, I would personally consider it a piece of art rather than some kind of a message because it stands there completely alone as though the sheep were wistfully looking out over a very beautiful scene. It is a very small one, measuring about 2.5 inches in height and 3.75 inches in width: to provide perspective, the following photo shows a larger view. (There are several more photos that I would absolutely love to show, but in the interest of protecting the piece from possible theft or damage, I have decided to refrain from showing anything that could possibly lead someone to its whereabouts.)
There is also a story to go along with this discovery:
I did not discover this pictograph myself. Instead, it was “discovered” by my very observant wife who has never even been to that site, and here is how that came about. Almost invariably I bring back photos from my wanderings and almost invariably she reviews them. As she looked at one of the scenes I brought back that day she detected the tiny image of the sheep on a rock right at the edge of the photo. When we enlarged the photo it became clear what it was and that caused me to immediately make another trip to the site to take more photos. (I first printed the one of the scene and using that photo enabled me to return to the exact location.) Without her keen observation it would have been completely missed.
I reported the finding to a person of authority in the area, indeed, I took him to it to see for himself and am assuming that he will put the wheels in motion to take the correct actions to preserve/protect the pictograph. As far as I am concerned, it is a priceless piece of ancient art.
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March 3, 2009
Pictures from the past
On a walk-about a few days ago I was elated when I came upon a group of pictographs on a sheltered section of cliff, and then greatly saddened when it became apparent that some of them have been severely vandalized.
I have not been able to uncover much information about these (other than they may be as old as two thousand years) and after seeing the damage that has been done here I have concluded it’s probably just as well that there is not much available.
I choose not to specify the location of these and will simply be content to show what they look like for those who may be interested.
This is one of the more
distinct paintings and
also one that shows where
someone tried to remove
it, succeeding
only to destroy part of it:
These are very vivid
in color because they are
sheltered by a rock
overhang.