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Pin Hole Cave By Enchufla Con Clave –

Top ten interesting facts about Creswell crags

Creswell Crags is an enclosed limestone gorge on the border between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, England, near the villages of Creswell and Whitwell. Its caves contain the northernmost cave art in Europe. This amazing cave art has a long history and also got occupied, this can be traced back 43,000 to 10,000 years ago. Here are the most amazing facts about this incredible gorge.  

1. Ancient Occupation

There is evidence of occupation found in the rich series of sediments that accumulated over many thousands of years. This is regarded as internationally unique as it provides a demonstration of how prehistoric people lived. Also, how they managed to get by being at the extreme northernmost limits of their territory during the late Pleistocene period.

The cave also has occupation layers. These layers contain evidence of flint tools from the Mousterian, proto-Solutrean, Creswellian, and Maglemonsian cultures.  

2. The Occupied Caves

Creswell Crags contains several caves that are found along the cliffs in the ravine. These caves were occupied between 43,000 and 10,000 years ago during the last ice age. The caves include; Mother Grundy’s Parlour, The Pin Hole, The Church Hole, and Th,e Robin Hood’s Cave.

Mother Grundy’s Parlour was occupied up to the Mesolithic times and contains numerous split bones and flint tools. Occupied at irregular intervals until the Roman times is The Church Hole cave. It is engraved on its walls with up to 80 engravings.

The Pin Hole cave contains a human figure engraved on a bone that got discovered in the 1920s and also an ivory pin that has etched lines. Finally, The Robin Hood’s Cave shows evidence of its occupants engaging in hunting the Arctic hare and the woolly rhinoceros. It is also the location of a bone engraved with a horse’s head.

3. Post-Medieval Activities

Evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, Roman, and post-medieval activity has also been found there.

4. Seasonal Occupations

Mother Grundy’s Parlour Cave, Creswell Crags, By Enchufla – Con Clave Wikimedia Commons

The caves were seasonally occupied by nomadic groups of people during the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods. There is also evidence of Neanderthal occupation around 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. In addition, there was a brief Gravettian occupation close to 32,000 years ago and the use of all the main caves during the Magdalenian around 14,000 years ago.

5. Prehistoric art

On the walls and ceilings of some of the caves, engravings and bas-reliefs were found. The discoveries were made by Paul Bahn, Sergio Ripoll, and Paul Pettitt back in 2003. It featured an animal figure identified as a stag, which at some point was thought of as an ibex. Further findings featured carvings on the ceiling of the Church Hole Cave.

Uranium-series disequilibrium, a dating method was performed on thin layers of calcium carbonate flowstone overlying some engravings.  It showed the flowstone had formed at least 12,800 years ago, this provides a minimum age for the underlying engraving. Archaeologists and scientists concluded that such engravings were contemporary with evidence of occupation at the site during the late glacial interstadial which was about 13,000 to 15,000 years ago.

6. Historical Findings

Since 1876, several excavations have been performed. The most intriguing finding is a bone engraved with a horse’s head. The engraved bone has been termed the Ochre Horse and was found at the back of the western chamber in the Robin Hood Cave in the fall of June 1876.

The Ochre Horse has been estimated to be about 11,000 and 13,000 years old. There have also been remains of a variety of prehistoric animals found including hippopotami and hyenas.

 7. It’s open for public visits

People from all parts of the world are welcome to come and visit the caves. Here they can learn about its history and see for themselves the features of the caves. Also, there is a visitor center with a collection of a small museum of objects that are associated with the caves.

8. A potential World heritage site

Having been known for its unique features, Creswell Crags is being put forward as a World Heritage Site Status. In 1986, it was applied for this status for the first time, however, it became unsuccessful. It was again forwarded for consideration in 2011 and finally, in 2012, it was added to the United Kingdom’s tentative list. This ‘tentative list’ offers an essential prerequisite to the formal nomination, evaluation and potential inscription as a World Heritage Site.

9. Featured in documentaries

Creswell Crags By Enchufla Con Clave –

Creswell Crags has been featured in several BBC Radio documentaries. Some of these documentaries include; Nature, Unearthing Mysteries, and Drawings on the Wall. The site also featured in two BBC television programs back in 2005. One was the Seven Natural Wonders and the other was The wonders of the Midlands. Watch Dr. Paul Pettitt getting interviewed about the so-called ‘naked ladies’ engravings in Church Hole Cave in the Drawings on the Wall documentary.

10. Designated an SSSI Status

Creswell Crags has several reasons to be regarded as unique. From its ancient occupations of the different prehistoric cultures to the different items and art, it earns its spot as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). There is also a pending consideration for it to be a World Heritage Site. The B6042 road was re-routed from its path through the gorge to minimize traffic impact on the site.