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England
Cheddar GorgeCave / Rock Shelter
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8 posts
Gough's Cave Cave / Rock Shelter |
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Archaeology at Cheddar CavesSat 17 July - Sun 1 Aug 10.00-17.00 Cheddar Caves & Gorge, Cheddar Join us for demonstrations of Stone Age survival skills in the Museum of Prehistory, authentic face painting and children's discovery sheets. Also audio guide tours of Gough's Cave. Cheddar Caves & Gorge - 01934 742343 elly@cheddarcaves.co... continues... |
Posted by Chance5th July 2010ce |
Retesting of bones gives new occupation dateBones from Gough's Cave have been re-radiocarbon-dated, giving a new date 14,700 years ago. This matches the archaeological evidence better than the previous radiocarbon tests. The date suggests Cheddar Gorge was one of the earliest places in Britain that was colonised after the Ice Age... continues... |
Posted by Rhiannon20th July 2009ce |
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Folklore |
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Cheddar Cave [...] is lofty in parts, and full everywhere of fantastic incrustations -- turkeys hanging by the legs, a brown loaf, with the mark of the baker's thumb, ropes of onions, organ pipes, cables, curtains (broad, transparent sheets), jelly glasses (reflected in a pool), and a stalactite and stalagmite separated now, as when the cave was first discovered, by just the space of one drop of water. This, Mr. Cox used to say, shows the slow growth of all these diverse petrifactions, the breaking off of one of which (he ominously hinted) had brought ruin on a thriving Taunton solicitor.Mr Cox, we are told, discovered the cave in 1837 when he was breaking up the ground for potatoes. Running a show cave obviously became more lucrative. I thought it was interesting that he used the same kind of 'harm to meddlers' threat that accompany other stoney sites. From 'Good-bye to Wessex' in 'London Society' magazine, April 1871. |
Posted by Rhiannon 31st March 2009ce |
| When the Devil first say the Mendip Hills they were smooth in outline, and legend has it that he decided to spoil them by digging out a deep channel which became the Gorge. His first spadeful of rock and soil was thrown out to sea to become the islands of Flat Holm and Steep Holm (off of Weston Super Mare). The next load became Brent Knoll. He also meant to destroy the Minehead and Watchet area but when he jumped over the River Parrett the basketload of soil he was carrying flew off in several directions. |
Posted by pure joy21st March 2003ce |
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Cheddar Caves and GorgeOfficial web site for site including maps, opening times & prices |
Posted by Chance 10th July 2010ce Edited 10th July 2010ce |
Channel Four - Time TeamBrief description of Cooper's Hole with photos, animation and links. |
Posted by Rhiannon 4th March 2006ce |
Latest posts for Cheddar Gorge |
Gough's Cave (Cave / Rock Shelter) — Links |
BBC NewsDr Silvia Bello explains in this short video how she thinks a skull (found at Cheddar Gorge in 1987) was carefully chipped into a bowl shape (with the implication that it could then be used as a cup). Her article is here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0017026 |
Posted by Rhiannon 18th February 2011ce Edited 21st February 2011ce |
Gough's Cave (Cave / Rock Shelter) — News |
New information about life in Gough's Cavehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jun/20/ice-age-cannibals-britain-earliest-settlers A new carbon dating technique ('ultra filtration') has suggested that the cave was colonised very quickly from further south in Europe after the retreat of the glaciers. It was inhabited for a few hundred years c. 14,700 years ago (a shorter time than previously thought), and it was probably only a intermittent retreat, not a permanent home. Human bones from the cave show traces of being butchered just like animal bones, to remove the flesh and marrow (and the brain, tongue and eyes, for those wanting more gruesome detail) - but still, it's not possible to say whether this was due to hunger or cultural practice. After this period the ice returned and Britain was completely depopulated again. Chilly. |
Posted by Rhiannon 23rd June 2010ce |
Gough's Cave (Cave / Rock Shelter) — Images (click to view fullsize) |
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Posted by fitzcoraldo3rd July 2009ce |
Gough's Cave (Cave / Rock Shelter) — News |
More on 'Mammoth' carvingThis page at the 24 Hour Museum has a photo and diagram of the newly-found carving. http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART49804.html (You can call me a cynic, but when you think "mammoth", what features come to mind? Fur. Tusks. And oh yes, a big long trunk. Check out the diagram on this page. "The back and head of a mammoth complete with two tusks and an eye." No trunk. Or alternatively, two trunks. It is exciting stuff but is it reeeaaally a mammoth?) |
Posted by Rhiannon 19th August 2007ce |
Prehistoric cave art found in Gough's Cave"It might not have the instant impact of modern graffiti but a mammoth carved on to a wall in Cheddar Caves 13,000 years ago is being hailed as one of the most significant examples of prehistoric art ever found in Britain. The carving - a little larger than a man's hand, is only the second piece of representational cave art found in Britain, and contemporary with the golden age of cave art in Europe. Britain had a flourishing Stone Age culture but, unlike prehistoric sites in France and Spain, no cave paintings or carvings had been found until recently, when the discovery of Stone Age carvings of animals and humans at Creswell Crags, near Sheffield, launched a new hunt for prehistoric cave art. Graham Mullan and Linda Wilson, of Bristol University, have spent several years minutely examining various Cheddar Caves for almost imperceptible carvings, using sophisticated new lighting techniques. So far they have uncovered geometrical carvings in Long Hole, and the 13,000-year-old mammoth in Gough's Cave. Experts believe the carving, in an isolated niche, may have been used by tribal shamans in religious rituals. It lies beyond the main living area of the Stone Age tribe who inhabited the cave. It takes an expert eye to see the carving which has just gone on show to the public. The creature's huge tusks are the clearest feature. Cheddar Caves director Hugh Cornwell said: "We've got to hand it to Graham and Linda. "They looked closely at rock faces which had only been glanced at by previous archaeologists, and have come up with some very exciting finds. "Gough's Cave has always been one of Britain's most important prehistoric sites, and inhabited for more than 1,000 years by our hunter-gatherer ancestors. "The country's first evidence of cannibalism was found here, and also Britain's oldest complete skeleton, Cheddar Man. "The mammoth carving was found just beyond the daylight zone, where our ancestors ate and slept. "It may have been a secret inner chamber, only used by shamans to invoke their animal gods. Now, thanks to special lighting and a small display, all our customers can walk in and admire our mammoth. He's a lovely little chap - a wonderfully spirited carving with enormous tusks." Speaking from his home in Bristol Mr Mullan said: "This is certainly a significant find. Before the discovery of the Creswell Crags carvings, I was one of the people who argued that there was nothing of the kind in this country at all. "This shows that the people of Cheddar were doing the same sort of thing as their contemporaries in France. "Some people are even suggesting that the work at Cheddar is so similar to that at Creswell Crags that it must have been carried out by the same people." The carvings pre-date the famous Cheddar Man skeleton by 4,000 years. Caves spokesman Bob Smart, said: "The mammoth dates from the golden age of cave art in Europe, but by the time of Cheddar Man, who died 9,000 years ago, it seems they had moved on to other forms of art and religion." Visitors enthused by the spirit of their ancestors can study the mammoth and then walk across the road to try their own hand at cave art in the Cheddar Caves Museum of Prehistory, built in the house formerly owned by Richard Gough, the Victorian who rediscovered Gough's Cave." From the Western Daily Press: http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146238&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146064&contentPK=18105499&folderPk=100268&pNodeId=145795 |
Posted by baza14th August 2007ce |
Gough's Cave (Cave / Rock Shelter) — Images |
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Posted by hrothgar31st May 2006ce |
Gough's Cave (Cave / Rock Shelter) — Links |
Official website of Gough's Cave (part of Cheddar caves) |
Posted by pure joy 10th February 2003ce |
Gough's Cave (Cave / Rock Shelter) — Miscellaneous |
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A cave in the famous Cheddar Gorge. Britain's oldest complete skeleton, ‘Cheddar Man’, was buried in Gough's Cave 9,000 years ago and discovered in 1903. Humans lived in the caves for 40,000 years, leaving behind many stone-and-bone clues to their lifestyle. DNA tests in 1997 established that Cheddar Man still has descendants living in Cheddar. It seems like Gough’s cave is now part of the whole Cheddar Gorge ‘tourist experience’. The ‘Caves & Gorge Explorer Ticket’ allowing access to everything (i.e. including Gough’s Cave) cost almost £9 for an adult in 2002. It is open all year though. |
Posted by pure joy 9th February 2003ce |
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