| Summary : A cave located on a small isolated limestone outcrop in the south eastern part of the Creswell Gorge. It comprises a large semi-circular chamber with a small passage. Several excavations are known to have occurred, the earliest recorded being in the 1870s when a local man dug in search of treasure which he had dreamed was buried in the cave. Since then, excavations have been undertaken by Mello, Heath and Boyd Dawkins in the 1870s, by Leslie Armstrong in the 1920s, by Charles McBurney in 1959-60, by J Campbell in 1969 and by SN Collcutt in 1974. The site has yielded an important collection of Ipswichian sediment and fauna, as well as one of the richest Upper Palaeolithic assemblages so far excavated in Britain. Lithic and faunal material points to two distinct episodes of use in the Late Upper Palaeolithic, as well as Mesolithic activity. A series of radiocarbon dates confirm the Late Upper Palaeolithic activity, while dates in the Mesolithic have also been recovered from animal bones and charcoal. Human remains were found in several excavations, and had been assumed to be of similar date, but radiocarbon dating so far has produced three Neolithic dates plus one in the Iron Age. Iron Age and Roman pottery was reported by Armstrong from the area outside the cave, while it has been claimed that McBurney found a Roman coin and brooch. Branigan and Dearne also list a brooch, nail cleaner, and iron knife. Armstrong identifed some pieces of bone which he claimed featured engravings of animals. However, these have not generally been accepted. |
More information : [SK 5358 7425. Derived from OS 25" 1961] Mother Grundy's Parlour. Small,shallow cave on the north face of Creswell Crags. Some unorganised excavation started in the 1870's although the first formal excavations were in 1876 by Boyd Dawkins and Mello. Later excavations include Armstrong (1924), McBurney (1959), Campbell (1969) and Collcutt (1975). The site had an important series of Ipswichian deposits at the rear of the cave. Most of the human occupation ocurred outside the cave in the platform area and included evidence of Mousterian, Early Upper and Later Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic levels. The platform area was reconstructed following Armstrong's excavations. (1-17)
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