Details

Gough's Cave consists of a main passage 5-9m wide and c.200m long,
ending in two large chambers. From the entrance on the north side, are
several side passages, the nearest of which, Sand Hole and Skeleton Pit
(also known as Cheddar Man Fissure) are of demonstrable archaeological
importance. The cave was dug open to its present extent by R.C.Gough
and sons (1890-98) who turned it into a show cave. Flints and bones were
found during the deepening of the entrance passage and the `Cheddar Man"
skeleton appeared in 1903 when the approach to Skeleton Pit was being
cleared. Subsequent excavation by R.F. Parry (1927-31) provided a rich
collection of Late Upper Palaeolithic flint artefacts, worked bone and
antler as well as a large collection of Pleistocene fauna from the cave
earth and brecciated sediments within the cave. A recent survey and
excavation by the Natural History Museum (1986- ) has demonstrated
significant remnants of deposit within the cave. In particular,
sediments against the north wall, consisting of a fine gravel and
underlying red silt, have produced Creswellian finds, including rare
human skeletal material and a decorated antler artefact. A continuation
of artefact-bearing sediments occurs in Skeleton Pit (west wall) and is
likely to occur beneath many of the existing concrete walkways. The
eastern extent of deposits is unknown but the innermost finds recorded
by Parry come from c.35m into the cave. Apart from Late Upper
Palaeolithic artefacts, the cave has also yielded Mesolithic finds (eg.
Cheddar Man), Bronze age and Romano-British material.
The monument includes all deposits within the cave from the inner edge
of the present entrance arch for 35m into the cave. The above ground
walkways, steps, iron gates, turnstiles and other modern facilities are
all excluded from the scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Palaeolithic caves and rock shelters provide some of the earliest evidence of
human activity in the period from about 400,000 to 10,000 years ago. The
sites, all natural topographic features, occur mainly in hard limestone in the
north and west of the country, although examples also exist in the softer
rocks of south-east England. Evidence for human occupation is often located
near the cave entrances, close to the rock walls or on the exterior platforms.
The interiors sometimes served as special areas for disposal and storage or
were places where material naturally accumulated from the outside. Because of
the special conditions of deposition and preservation, organic and other
fragile materials often survive well and in stratigraphic association. Caves
and rock shelters are therefore of major importance for understanding this
period. Due to their comparative rarity, their considerable age and their
longevity as a monument type, all examples with good survival of deposits are
considered to be nationally important.

The twenty-one sites in Somerset form the densest and one of the most
important concentrations of monuments of this type in the country. The
Gough's Cave example is regarded as important because it has provided
the largest assemblage of Late Upper Palaeolithic flint artefacts from
any cave in Britain as well as artefacts in other materials, cut animal
bones and rare hominid bones showing marks associated with defleshing
and deliberate disarticulation.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Cook, J, Marked Human Bones From Gough's Cave, Somerset, (1986)
Currant, A P, Jacobi, R M, Stringer, C B, Excavations at Gough's Cave, Somerset 1986-7, (1989)
Currant, A P, The Late Glacial Mammal Fauna of Gough's Cave, Cheddar, Somerset, (1986)
Collcutt, S N, 'and their bearing on the Palaeolithic archaeology' in Analysis Of Sediments In Gough's Cave, Cheddar, Somerset, , Vol. 17, (1986)
Jacobi, R M, 'Cave, Cheddar, Somerset' in The History And LIterature Of Pleistocene Discoveries At Gough's, , Vol. 17, (1986)
Parkin, R A, Rowley-Conwy, P, Serjeantson, D, 'Cave, Cheddar, Somerset' in Late Palaeolithic Exploitation of Horse and Red Deer at Gough's, , Vol. 17, (1986)

Source: Historic England