ENGLISH CAVE DISCOVERIES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20522, 25 September 1928, Page 10

ENGLISH CAVE DISCOVERIES.

HUMAN SKULLS OF 12.000 B.c,

Two fragmentary skulls, one of a child, and another of a young man in the twenties, found in one of the famous caves at Cheddar and submitted to Sir Arthur Keith for his judgment as to their antiquity, have been pronounced by him as belonging to a race allied to the Cro-Magnon race of the Dordogne and Riviera caves, which flourished about 12,000 B.C. “The skulls were among discoveries made during excavations for the widening, made necessary by the number of visitors who pass through every year, of the entrance to Gough’s Cave,” Mr R. F. Parry, who superintended the operations, told a Daily News reporter. “I am freatly interested in archaeology, and, nowing that important discoveries had been made at this spot when the cave was first opened to the public, 30 years ago, I determined to do the work with scientific care. “ The skulls were found about six feet below the natural surface associated with palaeolitic flint instruments, and I submitted them to Sir Arthur Keith. They are similar to one found in the same cave years ago, and Sir Arthur’s Judgment is what I expected. I intend tc carry on the work of excavation next winter. The finds are on view in a little museum at the mouth of the cave and thousands of trippers inspect them every day.”. Most important of the discoveries is a baton de commandant—one of those mysterious, smooth, straight lengths of reindeer antler which have been found in Continental palaeolitic occupation floors, but no perfect specimen has ever been found before in England. A mere fragment of one came to light in the same cave, in the rocky alcove from, which, in 1903, the famous Cheddar Man ’ was taken.

"The baton has a large round perforation near one end and a number of engraved hatchings on the shaft. Thenuse is uncertain. One theory is that they are ceremonial wands of sceptres. Other authorities believe they were employed as tools’ for the straightening of the shafts for flint arrows. Included in the discoveries also were animal remains—the gigantic pleistocene red deer and horse predominating—bones of oxen, reindeer, wolves, and what is thought to be artic fox; hundreds of flint instruments, gravers’ awls, knives, and blades, bone points, perforated fox teeth, and a large rod of mamoth ivory. The simialarity of the stone implements found to earlier discoveries in Aleine's Hole and Mother Grundy’s Parlour, Creswell Crags; Derbyshire, would seem to date the occupation of the cave at about 8000 B.C. There is no doubt, in any case, that the industry is upper palaeolitic.