The Recording and Representation of Neolithic Engravings in the Déhus Passage Grave (Vale, Guernsey)

Abstract

In the course of making a digital record of a bow engraved on the lower face of a capstone in the Déhus passage grave, on Guernsey, several new motifs were observed, necessitating a reinterpretation of the composition as a whole.While the presence of a bow and two arrows is confirmed by photogrammetry and images obtained under directional lighting, the anthropomorphic figure can now be better defined, and compared to figures recently recognised in the Paris Basin. The presence of ‘hands’, however, cannot be confirmed, and these engravings may instead represent two horned animals in contact with two further motifs, one of which is certainly a throwing stick.