Irish Illusions: Four Knocks Passage Grave [audio 15min]

Over a series of five programmes, archaeologist Dr George Nash of Bristol University visits five rock art sites in England, Wales, Ireland, Portugal and Italy, to attempt to unravel the real, hidden meaning of rock art. Who creates rock art, and why? Can our present day graffiti artists provide some clues? In Programme Three,"Irish Illusions", Dr Muiris O’Sullivan of University College, Dublin meets George Nash inside Four Knocks Passage Grave, Eire, where they are stared at by a large cartoon-like human face on the wall - a very early example of what we would now call graffiti. Around it are the hypnotic images of concentric circles and horizontal zigzag lines, images also found across western Europe. So who was copying who in Neolithic times? And what spiritual meaning do these carvings convey to the Birmingham-based"Aerosol Arabic" artist Mohammed Ali?