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A Gazetteer of Non-Human Vertebrate Remains from Caves in the Yorkshire Dales Described in the Scientific Literature. A.T. Chamberlain. Department
of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield, Northgate House,
West Street, Sheffield, S1 4ET, U.K. email: a.chamberlain@shef.ac.uk When referencing this article, please use the following
convention:
Chamberlain, A.T. 2002. A Gazetteer of Non-Human Vertebrate Remains from Caves in the Yorkshire Dales Described in the Scientific Literature. Capra 4 available at - http://capra.group.shef.ac.uk/4/bonecavechamberlain.html
This gazetteer of Yorkshire Dales caves with vertebrate remains complements
the gazetteer compiled by Phil Murphy (2002) and covers the same geographical
area, i.e. the caving regions described in the Northern Caves guides excluding
the Morecambe Bay, North York Moors and Magnesian Limestone areas. Although scientific investigations of the caves of this region have been
conducted since the 1850s (see Cuttriss, 1903, for a bibliography of early
studies), the number of Yorkshire Dales caves described in the scientific
literature comprises only about half of the total that are currently known
to have contained animal bone material. The faunas from the Yorkshire
Dales caves are dominated by the remains of carnivores and large ungulates
(see Tables 1
and 2
- launches new window). Small mammal and bird bones
(Table 3
- launches new window) have been reported from eleven
caves, but these remains are undoubtedly much more common in cave sediments
than is apparent from the published records. Deliberate strategies for
the recovery of micromammals have only been employed at a few of the Yorkshire
Dales caves, whereas it is expected that many of the cave deposits in
this region will contain the remains of owl pellet accumulations which
are particularly rich in small mammal bones (Andrews, 1990). The animal species represented in the Yorkshire Dales caves include a
mixture of extinct wild faunas together with domestic and wild faunas
that are present in the region today. Raygill Fissure and Victoria Cave
(Lower Cave Earth) are of special scientific importance because they contain
a diagnostic suite of animals that were present in Britain during the
last interglacial, in the Ipswichian faunal stage (Oxygen Isotope stage
5e, approximately 130,000 years ago). This fauna is characterised by the
presence of the spotted hyaena, lion, hippopotamus, straight-tusked elephant
and narrow-nosed rhinoceros (Tables 1 and 2). Five caves (Elbolton Cave,
Heights Cave, Kinsey Cave, Stump Cross Caverns and Victoria Cave) contain
cold stage faunas that are characteristic of the Devensian glaciation,
typified by the remains of reindeer, arctic fox, mountain hare and ptarmigan.
A flowstone enclosing the reindeer bones in Stump Cross Caverns has been
radiometrically dated to 75,000 years ago, at the beginning of the last
glacial period, but the faunas from the other caves in this group are
more likely to be from the lateglacial period dating to between 13,000
and 10,000 years ago. The domestic species of cattle, horse, sheep and pig are frequently found
in cave deposits (Table 2), but where the deposits are stratified (as
is the case at Elbolton Cave, Heights Cave and Victoria Cave) it can be
shown that these species are confined to the uppermost or youngest layers
within the deposits. Wild carnivores and ungulates are also commonly found
in the Yorkshire Dales caves and it is noteworthy that the brown bear
is one of the most frequently reported species, being found in at least
half of the caves in this sample.
Andrews, P. 1990. Owls Caves and Fossils. London, British Museum Press. Cuttriss, S.W. 1903. Bibliography. The Yorkshire Caves. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society 15: 293-304. Murphy, P. 2002. A gazetteer of non-human vertebrate remains from caves in the Yorkshire Dales referenced in caving club journals and allied literature. CAPRA 4available at - http://capra.group.shef.ac.uk/4/bonecavemurphy.html
List
of Caves Published in the Scientific Literature Albert
Cave (King’s Scar Cave) Return to top of page CAVE: Albert Cave (King’s Scar Cave) NGR: SD 8379 6508 REMAINS: Animal bones POSITION IN CAVE: ? IDENTIFICATION: Remains not identified LOCATION OF FINDS: British Museum, London; Buxton Museum; Keighley Museum DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Jackson, J.W. 1962 Archaeology and Palaeontology. In Cullingford, C.H.D. (ed.) British Caving. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp. 252-346.
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CAVE: Attermire Cave NGR: SD 8417 6416 REMAINS: Domestic animal remains POSITION IN CAVE: ? IDENTIFICATION: J.W. Jackson LOCATION OF FINDS: Leeds City Museum DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Jackson, J.W. 1962 Archaeology and Palaeontology. In Cullingford, C.H.D. (ed.) British Caving. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp. 252-346.
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NGR: SD 7890 6624 REMAINS: Layer A: goose, duck, small bird, cattle, goat, deer, domestic pig, badger, hare, rabbit, small rodents, fox, dog, fish. Layer B: cattle, goat or sheep, hare, dog, small rodents, brown bear. POSITION IN CAVE: Section through floor deposits along west wall of cave IDENTIFICATION: Professor G. Busk LOCATION OF FINDS: Craven Museum, Skipton DATING EVIDENCE: Charcoal layer radiocarbon dated to 3915 bp (SRR-3442) NOTES: Cave Ha No. 3 was also excavated by John Tobin in 1954/55. Animal bones were found but not identified. REFERENCES: Hughes, T.M. 1874. Exploration of Cave Ha, near Giggleswick, Settle, Yorkshire. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 3: 383-387. Pentecost, A., Thorp, P.M., Harkness, D.D. & Lord, T.C. 1990. Some radiocarbon dates for tufas of the Craven District of Yorkshire. Radiocarbon 32: pp. 93-97 Tobin, J. 1955. Cave Ha No. 3. British Speleological Association Archaeological Report: 1-3.
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NGR: SD 984 676 REMAINS: Domestic animal species POSITION IN CAVE: In cave deposits IDENTIFICATION: J.W. Jackson LOCATION OF FINDS: Skipton Museum DATING EVIDENCE: NOTES: - REFERENCES: Jackson, J.W. 1962 Archaeology and Palaeontology. In Cullingford, C.H.D. (ed.) British Caving. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp. 252-346.
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NGR: SD 918 705 REMAINS: Water Vole, Field Vole, Root Vole POSITION IN CAVE: Not known IDENTIFICATION: A.J. Sutcliffe and K. Kowalski LOCATION OF FINDS: Natural History Museum, London DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Sutcliffe, A.J. and Kowalski, K. 1976. Pleistocene rodents of the British Isles. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 29: 31-147.
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NGR: SD 9517 6890 REMAINS: Cattle, sheep, goat, horse, wild boar, red deer, roe deer, badger, fox, wolf, dog, water vole, bird bones. POSITION IN CAVE: From floor deposits in East and West Chambers IDENTIFICATION: J. Jackson and H. Denny LOCATION OF FINDS: British Museum, London; Craven Museum, Skipton; Leeds City Museum DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Denny, H. 1859. On the geological and archaeological contents of the Victoria and Dowkabottom Caves in Craven. Proceedings of Geological and Polytechnic Society of the West Riding of Yorkshire 4: 45-74. Farrer, J. & Denny, H. 1865. Further exploration in the Dowkerbottom Caves, in Craven. Proceedings of the Geological and Polytechnic Society of the West Riding of Yorkshire 4: 414-422. Poulton, E.B. 1881. A preliminary account of the working of Dowkerbottom Cave, in Craven, during August, 1881. Report of the Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 622-623.
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NGR: SE 0077 6149 REMAINS: Upper Cave Earth: horse, wild boar, cattle, red deer, sheep, wolf, dog, badger, wild cat, birds, rodents Middle Cave Earth: brown bear, reindeer, arctic fox, red fox, mountain hare Lower Cave Earth: arctic fox, reindeer, ptarmigan POSITION IN CAVE: From excavated floor deposits IDENTIFICATION: A. Raistrick LOCATION OF FINDS: Craven Museum, Skipton; Cliffe Castle Museum; Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds DATING EVIDENCE: Upper Cave earth probably Holocene; Middle and Lower Cave Earths probably lateglacial NOTES: - REFERENCES: Davis, J.W. et al. 1892. Report of the committee appointed to complete the investigation of the cave at Elbolton. Report of the Sixty-Second Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 266. Gilks, J.A. 1973. The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age pottery from Elbolton Cave, Wharfedale. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 45: 41-54. Jones, E. 1888. On the recent exploration of a cave at Elbolton, near Thorpe. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society 11: 86-90. Jones, E. 1889. On further exploration of a cave at Elbolton, near Thorpe, in Craven. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society 11: 307-310. Jones, E. 1890. Elbolton Cave exploration. Report of the Sixtieth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 817-818. Tiddeman, R.H. et al. 1894. The investigation of the cave at Elbolton. Report of the Sixty-Fourth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 270-271.
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NGR: SD 7566 7147 REMAINS: Aurochs, cattle, giant deer, red deer, roe deer, wolf, wild boar, horse POSITION IN CAVE: In floor deposits at cave entrance IDENTIFICATION: J.W. Jackson LOCATION OF FINDS: Not known DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Brodrick, H. 1924. Fox Holes, Clapdale - a rock shelter. Yorkshire Ramblers Club Journal 5: 112-116. Jackson, J.W. 1962. Archaeology and Palaeontology. In Cullingford, C.H.D. (ed.) British Caving. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp. 252-346.
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NGR: SD 8101 6465 REMAINS: Lynx, bear, domestic fauna POSITION IN CAVE: ? IDENTIFICATION: J.W. Jackson LOCATION OF FINDS: Craven Museum, Skipton; ?British Museum DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Simpson, E. 1950. The Kelcow Caves, Giggleswick, Yorkshire. Cave Science 2: 258-262.
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CAVE: Heights Cave (Calf Hole, Elland Cave) NGR: SD 9644 6460 REMAINS: Upper Layer: Sheep, horse, fox, badger, rabbit, hare, otter, bird bones, rodents, amphibians Lower Layer: bison, reindeer, roe deer, horse, brown bear POSITION IN CAVE: In floor deposits of Entrance Chamber. IDENTIFICATION: W. Boyd Dawkins, L.C. Miall LOCATION OF FINDS: Craven Museum, Skipton DATING EVIDENCE: Mesolithic artefact found in cave NOTES: - REFERENCES: Tiddeman, R.H. et al. (1894) Exploration of the Calf Hole Cave at the Heights, Skyrethorns, near Skipton. Reports of the Meetings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 272-273.
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NGR: SD 8376 6551 REMAINS: Root vole, field vole, bank vole, wood mouse, common shrew POSITION IN CAVE: In deeper cave earth IDENTIFICATION: J.W. Jackson LOCATION OF FINDS: Dept of Geology, University of Leicester DATING EVIDENCE: Late Pleistocene NOTES: - REFERENCES: Jackson, J.W. 1962. Archaeology and Palaeontology. In Cullingford, C.H.D. (ed.) British Caving. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp. 252-346.
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NGR: SD 8040 6569 REMAINS: Reindeer, aurochs, lynx, wolf, bear POSITION IN CAVE: Late Pleistocene horizon IDENTIFICATION: J.W. Jackson LOCATION OF FINDS: Not known DATING EVIDENCE: Late Pleistocene. Radiocarbon date of 11,270 bp (OxA-2456) on reindeer antler. NOTES: - REFERENCES: Hedges, R.E.M. et al. 1992. Radiocarbon dates from the Oxford AMS system: Archaeometry datelist 14. Archaeometry 34: 141-159. Jackson, J.W. 1931. Lynx remains from Yorkshire caves. The Naturalist 115-116. Jackson, J.W. & Mattinson, W.K. 1932. A cave on Giggleswick Scars, near Settle, Yorkshire. The Naturalist 5-9. Yalden, D. 1999. The History of British Mammals. London: Poyser.
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NGR: SE 0902 9113 (cave now destroyed) REMAINS: Cattle or aurochs, sheep or goat, domestic pig, rabbit, hare, hedgehog, water vole, fox, red deer POSITION IN CAVE: In cave floor deposits IDENTIFICATION: W. Davies LOCATION OF FINDS: Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Horne, W. 1885. On prehistoric remains recently discovered in Wensleydale. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society 9: 175-179.
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NGR: SD 8098 6467 REMAINS: horse, cattle, domestic pig, sheep, hare, rabbit, small rodent, fox, badger, amphibian bones, bird bones POSITION IN CAVE: Floor deposits in main chamber IDENTIFICATION: J.W. Jackson LOCATION OF FINDS: Craven Museum, Skipton; Buxton Museum; Department of Geology, University of Leicester DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Simpson, E. 1950. The Kelcow Caves, Giggleswick, Yorkshire. Cave Science 2: 258-262.
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NGR: near SD 795 725 (?cave destroyed by quarrying) REMAINS: brown bear, lynx, red fox, horse, hare POSITION IN CAVE: Floor deposits (cave earth) IDENTIFICATION: J.W. Jackson LOCATION OF FINDS: Manchester Museum DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Handby, J.W. 1899. Cave finds in Ribblesdale. The Naturalist 32. Jackson, J.W. 1931. Lynx remains from Yorkshire caves. The Naturalist 115-116.
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NGR: SD 7292 7566 REMAINS: Cattle, sheep or goat, domestic pig, brown bear POSITION IN CAVE: In floor deposits IDENTIFICATION: T.C. Lord LOCATION OF FINDS: Private Collection (T.C. Lord) DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Anon. 1986. The Yorkshire Archaeological Register: 1985. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 58: 199. Gilks, J.A. 1976. Excavations in a cave on Raven Scar, Ingleton, 1973-5. Transactions of the British Cave Research Association 3(2): 95-99.
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NGR: SD 941 452 REMAINS: Hippopotamus, straight-tusked elephant, slender-nosed rhinoceros, spotted hyaena, lion, bear, bison, roe deer POSITION IN CAVE: In vertical fissure fill IDENTIFICATION: R.H. Tiddeman LOCATION OF FINDS: Leeds Museum DATING EVIDENCE: Last interglacial NOTES: - REFERENCES: Davis, J.W. 1881. On the exploration of a fissure in the mountain limestone at Raygill. Report of the Fifty-First Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 645-646. Davis, J.W. 1883. Report of the Committee, consisting of Professor A.H. Green, Professor L.C. Miall, Mr John Brigg, and James W. Davis (Secretary) appointed to assist in the exploration of Raygill Fissure, Yorkshire. Report of the Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 133-135. Davis, J.W. 1884. Report of the Committee appointed to assist in the exploration of Raygill Fissure, Yorkshire. Report of the Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 240. Davis, J.W. 1886. On the exploration of the Raygill Fissure in Lothersdale, Yorkshire. Report of the Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 469-470. Miall, L.C. 1880. Raygill Fissure, the cave and its contents. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society 7: 207-208.
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NGR: SD 7847 6658 REMAINS: Lynx POSITION IN CAVE: IDENTIFICATION: J.W. Jackson LOCATION OF FINDS: ?Craven Museum, Skipton DATING EVIDENCE: - NOTES: - REFERENCES: Jackson, J.W. 1962. Archaeology and Palaeontology. In Cullingford, C.H.D. (ed.) British Caving. London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp. 252-346. Raistrick, A. 1936. Excavations at Sewell's cave, Settle, W. Yorkshire. Proceedings of the University of Durham Philosophical Society 9(4): 191-204.
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NGR: SE 089 635 REMAINS: Reindeer, wolverine POSITION IN CAVE: In flowstone floor IDENTIFICATION: A. Sutcliffe LOCATION OF FINDS: - DATING EVIDENCE: TIMS date on flowstone enclosing bones is around 74,000 years NOTES: - REFERENCES: Collins, E.R. 1959. The discovery of reindeer bones in Stump Cross Caverns, Greenhow Hill. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 40: 160-162. Sutcliffe, A.J. et al. 1985. Wolverine in northern england at about 83,000 yr bp - faunal evidence for climate change during isotope stage-5. Quaternary Research 24: 73-86.
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NGR: SD 7105 7590 REMAINS: Red deer, roe deer, domestic pig, cattle, sheep POSITION IN CAVE: Floor deposits near cave entrance IDENTIFICATION: T.C. Lord LOCATION OF FINDS: Private collection (T.C. Lord) DATING EVIDENCE: Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery may be contemporaneous with the fauna NOTES: - REFERENCES: Gilks, J.A. 1995. Later Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery from Thaw Head Cave, Ingleton, North Yorkshire. Transactions of the Hunter Archaeological Society 18: 1-11.
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NGR: SD 8384 6505 REMAINS: Upper Cave Earth and Lower Breccia: badger, horse, domestic pig, cattle, sheep, goat, fox, brown bear, red deer, reindeer Lower Cave Earth: brown bear, spotted hyaena, lion, straight-tusked elephant, narrow-nosed rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giant deer, red deer, bovid (Bos or Bison) POSITION IN CAVE: Finds from the Lower Breccia and Lower Cave Earth are from near the cave entrance. IDENTIFICATION: A.P. Currant; R.M. Jacobi LOCATION OF FINDS: British Museum, London; Leeds City Museum; T.C. Lord private collection DATING EVIDENCE: Upper Cave Earth is Holocene; Lower Breccia is radiocarbon dated to the end of the Upper Pleistocene (lateglacial); Lower Cave Earth is Ipswichian (last interglacial) NOTES: - REFERENCES: Dawkins, W.B. 1872. Report on the results obtained by the Settle Cave Exploration Committee out of Victoria Cave 1870. Journal of the Anthropological Institute 1: 60-70. Gascoyne, M., Currant, A.P. & Lord, T.C. 1981. Ipswichian fauna of Victoria Cave and the marine palaeoclimatic record. Nature 294: 652-654. Hedges, R.E.M. et al. 1992. Radiocarbon dates from the Oxford AMS system: Archaeometry datelist 14. Archaeometry 34: 141-159. Tiddeman, R.H. .1875. The work and probblems of the Victoria Cave exploration. Proceedings of the Geological and Polytechnic Society of the West Riding of Yorkshire 6: 77-92. Tiddeman, R.H. 1875-79. Second ... to ... Sixth report of the committee appointed for the purpose of assisting in the exploration of the Settle Caves (Victoria Cave). Reports of the Meetings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
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