Cave and Karst Science Vol 50 No 2: Caves, Karst, Archaeology and a Great Scientist

Cave and Karst Science Vol 50 No 2: Caves, Karst, Archaeology and a Great Scientist

There are five main papers, two short Forum pieces and a Photo Feature in the latest edition of the BCRA’s Cave and Karst Science, but it begins with an extensive tribute to the late Alexander Klimchouk. Alexander Klimchouk was undeniably one of the most influential cave researchers in the world and this well-deserved appreciation of…

Cave and Karst Science Vol 48 No 2: Chalk, more chalk, dogs and graffiti.

Cave and Karst Science Vol 48 No 2: Chalk, more chalk, dogs and graffiti.

The latest issue of Cave and Karst Science is dominated (the editors’ word!) by karst and caves within the English chalk. There are also, though papers on aspects of cave archaeology, including historic graffiti in an underground stone quarry and the excavated remains of domesticated dogs from a cave on the Gower peninsula. An informative…

Events round-up: Hidden Earth cancelled, BCRA talks/AGM and a case of possible cannibalism in South Gloucestershire

Events round-up: Hidden Earth cancelled, BCRA talks/AGM and a case of possible cannibalism in South Gloucestershire

Covid continues to create certainty for events organisers, with some cancelled and others moving online, but there might be light at the end of the tunnel … unless it’s a caver coming the other way. Hidden Earth: the National Caving Conference The following announcement has been made by the Hidden Earth team: “We are sorry…

Cave and Karst Science Vol 47 No 2: Biology, fractures and Palaeoenvironments

Cave and Karst Science Vol 47 No 2: Biology, fractures and Palaeoenvironments

The latest issue of Cave and Karst Science kicks off with two detailed biological papers, detailing work in Meghalaya and the Caucasus. Other papers are based on work in the UK and include LiDAR survey, fracture displacement monitoring and Palaeoenvironmental studies. This issue contains six major papers. The first two are concerned with biological studies….

Descent 275 – Old discoveries and new from India to the North Yorks Moors.

Descent 275 – Old discoveries and new from India to the North Yorks Moors.

Descent 275 is now with us. Yet another issue compiled during this plague year, but still packed with interesting and informative material – and there is even news of new exploration in England! Newsdesk starts with an update on how the pandemic is affecting caving in the UK and cautiously welcomes the reopening of caves…

Using dental wear to estimate age at death – work on cave archaeology

Using dental wear to estimate age at death – work on cave archaeology

Sammy Field, from the University of Southampton, visited the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society’s collections as a PhD researcher to collect data for her thesis, ‘Re-evaluating the use of dental wear to estimate age at death of British archaeological remains.’ Sammy has kindly written a guest blog about her work in the UBSS collection. Age…

Settle down to host historic graffiti and protection marks field meeting

Settle down to host historic graffiti and protection marks field meeting

Introducing guidelines and a standing recording method is one of the aims of next May’s BCRA cave archaeology field meeting. It will take place from 8th May – 10th May at Lower Winskill Farm, Settle, in the Yorkshire Dales and will include the recording of historic graffiti and other markings. Details will be announced closer to the…

Cave fish, cake and karst

Cave fish, cake and karst

The BCRA’s 30th annual science symposium took place at Keyworth,hosted by the British Geological Survey. I attended the Saturday session and was impressed by the depth and variety of scientific work being undertaken by British cavers. The morning session kicked off with a description of palaeokarst features found in the Pielkhlieng Pouk-Krem Sakwa system in…

Cannibals, caves and climate change

Cannibals, caves and climate change

In 2019, The University of Bristol Spelaeological Society (UBSS), one of the oldest caving clubs in the country, celebrates 100 years of cave and archaeological exploration and research. On the 9th/10th November, to mark the occasion, the society is hosting a weekend of presentations and fieldtrips celebrating its past, present and future. UBSS member Professor…

Aveline’s Hole: A new twist in an old tale

Aveline’s Hole: A new twist in an old tale

New samples taken for DNA analysis from human bone from Aveline’s Hole by Natural History Museum researchers have thrown up surprising results. Graham Mullan reports on their findings. Aveline’s Hole, Burrington Combe, Mendip, contained the largest assemblage of Mesolithic human remains yet found anywhere in Britain. The cave was excavated in the 1920s by the…

Archaeologists identify first figurative Palaeolithic cave art in the Balkans

Archaeologists identify first figurative Palaeolithic cave art in the Balkans

An international team, led by an archaeologist from the University of Southampton and the University of Bordeaux, has revealed the first example of Palaeolithic figurative cave art found in the Balkan Peninsula. Dr Aitor Ruiz-Redondo worked with researchers from the universities of Cantabria (Spain), Newfoundland (Canada), Zagreb (Croatia) and the Archaeological Museum of Istria (Croatia)…

Ritual protection marks found in Creswell Crags

Ritual protection marks found in Creswell Crags

A large concentration of ritual protection marks have been discovered in caves in Creswell Crags, a limestone gorge on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border. Darkness Below editor Linda Wilson visited the site with researcher and archaeologist Alison Fearn and gives an account of the find. On Sunday 21st October 2018, cavers Hayley Clark and Ed Waters of…

Ritual protection in the Chaldon Quarries – health and safety in the 16th century

Ritual protection in the Chaldon Quarries – health and safety in the 16th century

For the first time, curious chalk inscriptions on the walls of an ancient stone quarry in Surrey are being systematically recorded, as part of a wider research project to better understand the long and hitherto hidden history of this important source of stone for London. Many of the chalk inscriptions have been identified as ritual protection marks (RPM).

How to piss off the French in one easy lesson – and why voles are important

How to piss off the French in one easy lesson – and why voles are important

Linda Wilson picked up some intriguing tips at the British Cave Research Association’s 29th cave science symposium as well as drinking plenty of tea … If you wanted to find out how to annoy our cross-channel neighbours, which caves you might want to avoid if spiders aren’t your thing and why you might soon be…

Newly discovered “Tally Marks” in Church Hole, Creswell

Newly discovered “Tally Marks” in Church Hole, Creswell

Creswell Crags is an Site of Special Scientific Interest on the border of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The beautiful limestone gorge cuts through an area of higher topographic relief that contains a series of horizontal caves that are perpendicular to the gorge itself. Several caves were first used by Neanderthals 50,000–60,000 years ago age followed by…

News: Chaldon Quarries, Surrey – Radiocarbon Dating Results

News: Chaldon Quarries, Surrey – Radiocarbon Dating Results

In January 2018, we reported that the Wealden Cave and Mine Society had been awarded the opportunity to get free radiocarbon dating work performed on archaeological samples from the Reigate area. By the end of March, the results were available, but disappointingly, two of the three samples submitted did not contain sufficient carbon to provide…

News: DNA Research Reveals More About 10,000-Year-Old Cheddar Man

News: DNA Research Reveals More About 10,000-Year-Old Cheddar Man

DNA work carried out by researchers from the Natural History Museum (NHM) and University College London (UCL) has shed new light on Cheddar Man, a skeleton discovered 103 years ago in Gough’s Cave, Somerset. Specialists from the NHM have succeeded in extracting viable DNA from the 10,000 year-old-skeleton, a first for a British individual of…

News: Pre Columbian Cave Art in the Caribbean

News: Pre Columbian Cave Art in the Caribbean

New research by academics from the University of Leicester and the British Museum, working with colleagues from the British Geological Survey and Cambridge University, outlines the science behind the largest concentration of indigenous pre-Columbian rock art in the Caribbean. Exploration and surveys of around 70 cave systems — part of an interdisciplinary study of past…

News: Ogof Draenen – Update

News: Ogof Draenen – Update

Following recent reports of the opening of a new entrance to Ogof Draenen and the statement from the Trustees of the Pwll Dhu Cave Management Committee, additional information has been received from Cadw who have confirmed that the hole that was excavated to open a new entrance to Ogof Draenen has been dug through, and…

News: Playing with Time, An Art Installation at Wells and Mendip Museum, Somerset

News: Playing with Time, An Art Installation at Wells and Mendip Museum, Somerset

Wells and Mendip Museum is hosting a stunning exhibition featuring the work of artist and film maker Sean Harris. ‘Playing with Time (Or a Concise History of Truth)’ is a stunning animated installation inspired by the museum’s cave paleontology collections. The art installation, fittingly housed in the Balch Room at the museum, explores the thinking…

News: Researchers Extract Human DNA From Cave Sediments

News: Researchers Extract Human DNA From Cave Sediments

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany have developed a new method of retrieving hominin DNA from sediments, even in the absence of skeletal remains. In comparison with the amount of human-made tools and other artefacts available, skeletal remains of ancient humans and their ancestors are comparatively scarce and where such remains do…

Cave Archaeology in North Wales – the last few years

Cave Archaeology in North Wales – the last few years

The bone caves of north Wales have received increased attention from archaeologists in recent years. Excavations have taken place at Llanarmon Cave (Llanarmon-yn-ial) and Ffynnon Bueno Cave (Tremeirchion) by Rob Dinnis, then of the British Museum, and his team. John Blore issued his final report on his fifty years work at Lynx Cave (near Eryrys),…

News: Stunning New Discoveries in Bruniquel Cave

News: Stunning New Discoveries in Bruniquel Cave

New dating evidence has confirmed that Neanderthal man made their way deep into caves in France and created complex structures from broken stalagmites and stalactites. Bruniquel cave in the Tarn-et-Garonne region of southern France was discovered and first explored in 1990. A challenging 30m entrance series leads to larger, well-decorated passages containing animal bones and…

News: Tratman Award 2015

News: Tratman Award 2015

The Tratman Award, 2015 The Tratman Award has been awarded annually since 1979 to a caving-related paper-based publication in memory of E.K. Tratman, who died in 1978. It covers books, journals and articles published in a calendar year and is administered by the Ghar Parau Foundation, but judged by independent cavers; for 2015 these were…

News: An invitation to join cave excavations at Lower Winskill

News: An invitation to join cave excavations at Lower Winskill

Photos and article courtesy of Tom Lord The first phase of excavations at Haggs Brow Cave, Lower Winskill http://www.lowerwinskill.co.uk/  will take place from Friday 20th May to Tuesday 31st May. Haggs Brow Cave is located on the Haggs, an area of former managed woodland or wood pasture at Lower Winskill Farm, near Settle. The cave…

March 2016 NAMHO Newsletter

March 2016 NAMHO Newsletter

In the March 2016 NAMHO newsletter, the headline story is, understandably, the closure of Kellingley Colliery, the last deep coal mine in Britain, which took place in December 2015. There is a link to Ian Castledine’s impressive photographic record immediately after the closure, at http://www.kellingley.co.uk/ Details of a forthcoming publication are described. “The Archaeology of Mining…

Book Review: The Archaeology of Caves in Ireland by Marion Dowd

Book Review: The Archaeology of Caves in Ireland by Marion Dowd

Ireland has long been a popular destination for cavers the world over. But there is much more to Irish caves than simply their sporting interest. Archaeologist Marion Dowd’s book, The Archaeology of Caves in Ireland, has just won the magazine Current Archaeology’s Book of the Year award. The book tells the story of how people…

News: Remarkable 5,000 year-old silver mine discovered in Greece

News: Remarkable 5,000 year-old silver mine discovered in Greece

A team of mining archaeologists, supervised by Prof. Dr Denis Morin of the University of Lorraine, connected with the UMR National Center for Scientific Research 5608 of Toulouse, has been investigating 5,000 year old silver mine workings in Greece. The scientists have used a drone to locate above-ground installations connected to the mining. It is…

News: Gazetteer of Caves, Fissures and Rock Shelters in Britain Containing Human Remains

News: Gazetteer of Caves, Fissures and Rock Shelters in Britain Containing Human Remains

Looking for information on human remains in caves? Look no further. Professor Andrew Chamberlain of the University of Manchester has compiled a gazetteer of all sites in Britain in which human remains have been found. This resource is hosted by the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society (UBSS) and can be found here. The gazetteer contains…