An English Teacher of History and a 9000-year-old cheddar man have the same DNA

Separated by 10,000 years but linked by DNA! A 9,000 year old skeleton’s DNA was tested and it was concluded that a living relative was teaching history about a half mile away, tracing back nearly 300 generations!

Four years before, when Adrian Targett, a retired history teacher from Somerset, walked into his local news-agent’s, he was startled to see a familiar face staring up at him. That face, appearing on the front page of several newspapers, belonged to a distant relative of his — around 10,000 years distant, actually — known as Cheddar Man.

Ancient DNA from Cheddar Man, a Mesolithic skeleton discovered in 1903 at Gough’s Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, has helped Museum scientists paint a portrait of one of the oldest modern humans in Britain.

This discovery is consistent with a number of other Mesolithic human remains discovered throughout Europe. Cheddar Man is the oldest complete skeleton to be discovered in the UK and has long been hailed as the first modern Briton who lived around 7,150 BC. His remains are kept by London’s Natural History Museum, in the Human Evolution gallery.

The Cheddar Man earned his name, not because of his fondness for cheese, which likely wasn’t cultivated until around 3,000 years later, but because he was found in Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, England (which is, incidentally, where cheddar cheese originates).

Some 25 years ago, in an amazing piece of DNA detective work, using genetic material taken from the cavity of one of Cheddar Man’s molar teeth, scientists were able to identify Mr Targett, 62, as a direct descendant.

Analysis of his nuclear DNA indicates that he was a typical member of the Western European hunter-gatherer population at the time, with lactose intolerance, probably with light-coloured eyes (most likely green but possibly blue or hazel), dark brown or black hair, and dark/dark-to-black skin, although an intermediate skin colour cannot be ruled out.

There are a handful of genetic variants linked to reduced pigmentation, including some that are very widespread in European populations today. However, Cheddar Man had “ancestral” versions of all these genes, strongly suggesting he would have had a “dark to black” skin tone.

Now Cheddar Man is back in the headlines because a new study of his DNA, using cutting edge technology, has enabled researchers to create a forensic reconstruction of his facial features, skin and eye colouring, and hair texture. And the biggest surprise is the finding that this ancient Brit had ‘dark to black skin — and bright blue eyes. (A previous reconstruction, before detailed genetic sequencing tests were available, assumed a white face, brown eyes and a ‘cartoon’ caveman appearance.)

No one had thought to tell Mr Targett any of this or invite him to the unveiling of the new reconstruction of his ancestor at the Natural History Museum on Monday.

‘I do feel a bit more multicultural now,’ he laughs. ‘And I can definitely see that there is a family resemblance. That nose is similar to mine. And we have both got those blue eyes.’

The initial scientific analysis in 1997, carried out for a TV series on archaeological findings in Somerset, revealed Mr Targett’s family line had persisted in the Cheddar Gorge area for around nine millennia, their genes being passed from mother to daughter through what is known as mitochondrial DNA which is inherited from the egg.

To put it simply, Adrian Targett and Cheddar Man have a common maternal ancestor.

It is only Cheddar Man’s skin colouring that marks the difference across this vast space of time. It was previously assumed that human skin tones lightened some 40,000 years ago as populations migrated north out of the harsh African sunlight where darker skin had a protective function.

At less sunny latitudes, lighter skin would have conferred an evolutionary advantage because it absorbs more sunlight which is required to produce vitamin D, a nutrient vital for preventing disabling illnesses such as bone disease rickets. Later, when farming crops began to replace hunter-gatherer lifestyles and communities ate less meat, offal and oily fish — a dietary source of vitamin D — paler skins would have conferred an even greater advantage and accelerated the spread of relevant genes.

However, Cheddar Man’s complexion chimes with more recent research suggesting genes linked to lighter skin only began to spread about 8,500 years ago, according to population geneticists at Harvard University.

They report that over a period of 3,000 years, dark-skinned hunter-gatherers such as Mr Targett’s ancestors interbred with early farmers who migrated from the Middle East and who carried two genes for light skin (known as SLC24A5 and SLC45A2).

It is no surprise Cheddar Gorge remains Britain’s prime site for Palaeolithic human remains. Cheddar Man was buried alone in a chamber near a cave mouth. But it’s not just Adrian Targett who has links with him. Indeed for many modern Britons, Cheddar Man’s true face offers a uniquely close DNA encounter with their past. Modern Britons draw about 10 per cent of their genetic ancestry from the West European hunter-gatherer population from which Cheddar Man sprang.

“Incredibly rare” 180-million-year-old giant “sea dragon” fossil discovered in the U.K.

Palaeontologists have made a massive discovery in the United Kingdom’s smallest county — the fossilized remains of a giant Jurassic sea creature. The fossil, which researchers said is “very well-preserved,” is said to be the “palaeontological discovery of a lifetime,” according to the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.

The fossil was found at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve in central England in February 2021, according to an announcement from the wildlife trust.

Joe Davis, who works on the water conservation team for the trust, found it during a routine draining procedure for re-landscaping. 

At first, he said in a statement, he thought the remains were clay pipes sticking out of the mud, except that “they looked organic.” He told a colleague that they looked like vertebrae, and when they got closer, they saw “what indisputably looked like a spine” as well as a jawbone at the spine’s end. 

“We couldn’t quite believe it,” Davis said. “The find has been absolutely fascinating and a real career highlight. It’s great to learn so much from the discovery and to think that this amazing creature was once swimming in seas above us.” 

The fossil was excavated in August and September and has since been identified as an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that somewhat resembled dolphins.

This particular fossil found nearly complete, is nearly 33 feet long and is roughly 180 million years old, researchers said. Its skull measures more than 6.5 feet long.

Davis told the BBC that the fossil was “very well-preserved, better than I think we could have all imagined.” 

Ichthyosaur expert Dean Lomax, who helped with the fossil’s research, said that the find is the “largest ichthyosaur skeleton ever discovered in Britain.” 

“These animals, they first appeared in a time called the Triassic period around roughly 250 million years ago,” Lomax said in a video for Rutland Water Nature Reserve. “Our specimen, the Rutland Ichthyosaur, or the Rutland Sea Dragon, is the biggest complete ichthyosaur ever found in Britain in over 200 years of collecting these things scientifically, which is an incredible feat.” 

Ichthyosaurs are not swimming dinosaurs, he clarified. 

According to the company Anglian Water, which helps maintain the reservoir in which the fossil was found, ichthyosaurs of this size and completeness are “incredibly rare,” especially in the U.K., with most comparable examples being found in Germany and North America. 

Alicia Kearns, who represents Rutland Melton in Parliament, said the discovery “surpassed every possible expectation.” 

“It is utterly awe-inspiring,” she said. 

Though the largest, this was not the first ichthyosaur fossil found in the reservoir. The Wildlife Trust said that two incomplete and “much smaller” remains were found in the ’70s when the reservoir was first being constructed. 

The palaeontologists working on the remains are continuing their research and are working on an academic paper about the findings. 

1,500-Year-Old Silver Site Uncovered in England

An abandoned mausoleum and silver extraction taking place on an industrial scale at a Roman site in rural Kent has left archaeologists with a 1500-year-old mystery.

Silver extraction on an industrial scale

Archaeologists working on an excavation at Grange Farm, near Gillingham, discovered 15 kilograms of litharge – a material associated with the extraction of silver from other metals. This is the largest amount ever found on a British Roman site and greatly exceeds the amount that archaeologists would normally expect to find on a rural settlement such as that at Grange Farm, suggesting that the refining of silver was taking place on an industrial scale.

However, the excavation team did not unearth any signs of the infrastructure that could have supported the size of operation required to produce this amount of material.

The excavation and subsequent research, which was led by Pre-Construct Archaeology (PCA) and involved archaeologists from Newcastle University, revealed a rectangular building that would have been built from timber and divided internally by three aisles. This type of multi-function ‘aisled’ building was fairly common in Roman Britain and would have been used both as a house and a place for crafts.

However, although the archaeologists found evidence of small-scale metalworking at one end of the building, it was not at a level that would have produced the amount of litharge discovered.

The team was confronted with another mystery when they also uncovered a stone mausoleum – a grand funerary monument usually found at Roman villas, not aisled buildings.

Dating to the late 3rd century or early 4th century AD, this was the height of a two-storey building and would have been visible from the nearby river Medway.  Inside, the mausoleum had a ‘tesselated’ floor of plain red mosaic tiles which was very unusual for mausoleums in Roman Britain, say the archaeologists.

Inside the ruins of the mausoleum, the archaeologists found a lead-lined coffin containing the body of an elderly lady. Isotopic analysis of the lady’s teeth suggests she was probably local, while radiocarbon dating suggests she was buried around the same time the mausoleum was built. Although it wasn’t unheard of for people to be buried in lead caskets in Roman Britain, it wasn’t a widespread practice. The discovery was also unusual because the team did not find any evidence that the lady had been buried with any personal items or grave goods, which was common at that time.  

Dr James Gerrard, Senior Lecturer in Roman Archaeology, said: “There are so many mysteries surrounding the discoveries at Grange Farm. Although we know that the economy during the late Roman empire was based on silver and gold, whose production was heavily controlled by the state, we don’t know why silver was being refined in such huge quantities at Grange Farm – which was only a small rural settlement. It may have been that the site’s proximity to the river was an important factor, or it could have been that the work was being done illegally, out of the Empire’s sight.

“Additionally, we have very few clues as to who the elderly lady was. It’s clear she was someone important with significant status in the community, because to be buried in a lead coffin in a substantial monument like the mausoleum requires resources – both in terms of money and labour.”

Anglo Saxon discoveries

By the fifth and sixth centuries, Grange Farm appears to have fallen out of use as a permanently-occupied settlement, so the team were surprised when the excavation also unearthed a number of early Anglo-Saxon items including two spear heads and ornate brooch. Spears were usually used as part of Anglo-Saxon burial practices but there was no evidence to suggest that Grange Farm was being used either as a settlement or burial site at that time.

“The brooch is a very unusual find – stylistically it is closer to southern Scandinavia and is one of only a handful of similar brooches found in Britain,” added Dr Gerrard. “Both the spears and brooch are unusual and high-status objects on an otherwise unassuming rural site.

“The mausoleum wasn’t in use at this time, and in fact it appears that the grave of the elderly lady was disturbed in later years – possibly by early medieval graverobbers or relic hunters.”

As well as the litharge and the mysteries surrounding the mausoleum and the elderly lady in the lead-lined coffin, the team of archaeologists also found 453 Roman coins, more than 20,000 fragments of pottery and 8,000 animal bones.

Complex sequence of activity over centuries

The excavation, which took place before the start of a new housing development on the site, is the subject of a new book, ‘By the Medway Marsh’, written by Dr Gerrard, and published by PCA. It details the excavation and the history of the site, from late-Iron Age, its transition and growth under the Romans, and what happened to it during Medieval times.

“The site at Grange Farm has given us a fascinating mystery and an extensive and complex sequence of activity covering the entire Roman period right through to early Anglo-Saxon – and beyond,” added Dr Gerrard. “But that’s just one phase of the story of this place. Everything we found – and what is happening to the site now – is evidence of the economic pull of the Medway and the area’s changing development.”

Victoria Ridgeway, Director and Head of Post-Excavation, Pre-Construct Archaeology, added: “In some ways the excavations at Grange Farm typify much of the work undertaken by commercial archaeological contractors like PCA, in that the sites’ boundaries were determined by the extent of new development, in this case for housing. But, whilst we knew the area had been important during the medieval period, we were less prepared for the extraordinary range of Roman and Anglo-Saxon finds we encountered.

“This book, in common with others in a series of monographs produced by PCA, is the culmination of several years of work, involving many specialists from different fields of research. We are grateful to the support provided by James Gerrard and the department at Newcastle University. This project has provided a welcome opportunity for collaboration between the ‘academic’ and ‘commercial’ aspects of the archaeological world.”

London’s largest Roman mosaic in 50 years discovered by archaeologists

In the shadow of the iconic Shard in London, archaeologists have come across an echo of the city’s ancient past. Right there in the heart of the city, they’ve unearthed a striking Roman mosaic that dates back to the late second or early third century.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime find in London,” raved Antonietta Lerz, the Museum of London Archeology (MOLA) site supervisor.

MOLA archaeologists uncovered the mosaic while excavating a new housing and retail development at the Liberty of Southwark site near the London Bridge. As they sifted through the dirt, something suddenly caught their attention.

“When the first flashes of colour started to emerge through the soil everyone on site was very excited,” Lerz explained.

The archaeologists eventually uncovered a Roman mosaic made of two panels that stretches for more than 26 feet. The larger panel includes lotus flowers, a “Solomon’s knot” pattern, and intertwining strands called guilloche. The smaller panel is simpler but includes some of the same designs with red and black tiles. Historians have seen similar mosaics elsewhere.

David Neal, a Roman mosaic expert, believes that the larger panel was made by the Acanthus group, who developed a unique style in London. And, intriguingly, the smaller panel bears a striking resemblance to one found in Trier, Germany. That may mean that London artisans took their craft abroad.

Both mosaics probably made up a triclinium, a sort of formal dining room where upper-class ancient Romans would have lounged on couches, chatted, and admired the beautiful floor.

The triclinium itself likely made up one part of a mansio, a type of inn for Romans officials travelling on state business where they could rest, stable their horses, and get a bite to eat. Archaeologists suspect that it was part of a bigger complex, but they’re still examining the grounds.

Indeed, the mosaics weren’t the only discoveries that the MOLA archaeologists made. They also found evidence of a large building nearby, which may have been a wealthy Roman’s private house. There, they uncovered an intricate bronze brooch, a bone hairpin, and a sewing needle.

“These finds are associated with high-status women who were following the latest fashions and the latest hairstyles,” Lerz explained, noting that they lived during the “heydey of Roman London.”

“The buildings on this site were of very high status. The people living here were living the good life.”

Roman London, or Londinium, was first settled in 47 C.E. It expanded rapidly throughout the first century and reached its peak during the second century. At the time, Londinium boasted a population of around 45,000 to 60,000.

The largest city in Roman Britannia, it had a forum, a basilica, bathhouses, temples, and other features found in bustling Roman hubs. The mosaics found near The Shard are a striking throwback to that time.

“The Liberty of Southwark site has a rich history, but we never expected a find on this scale or significance,” explained Henrietta Nowne, a Senior Development Manager at regeneration specialist U+I, which is working with Transport for London to develop the Liberty of Southwark site.

“We are committed to celebrating the heritage of all of our regeneration sites, so it’s brilliant that we’ve been able to unearth a beautiful and culturally-important specimen in central London that will be now preserved so that it can be enjoyed by generations to come.”

Moving forward, Lerz and her team aim to preserve and display the stunning mosaics.

“Long term, we would hope to have these on public display and we are in consultation with Southwark Council to find an appropriate building to put them in, where they can be enjoyed by everyone,” she explained.

For now, the excavation of the Roman mosaics continues — just a three-minute walk from London’s gleaming Shard.

Roman mosaic and villa complex found in Rutland farmer’s field

It was a family ramble through fields during lockdown last year that led to an “oh wow moment”: the discovery of a Roman villa complex containing a rare mosaic depicting Homer’s The Iliad, now thought to be one of the most remarkable and significant finds of its kind in Britain.

The mosaic – the first example found in the UK displaying scenes from the Greek epic poem, and only one of a handful from across Europe – was found beneath a farmer’s field in Rutland.

It is now protected by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England.

The site was discovered by Jim Irvine, son of the landowner, Brian Naylor, during the 2020 lockdown, and has been investigated by archaeologists from the University of Leicester in partnership with Historic England and Rutland county council.

Their investigation revealed the mosaic lies within an elaborate villa complex encompassing a host of other structures and buildings.

It is likely to have been occupied by a wealthy individual from the late Roman period, sometime between the 3rd and 4th century AD.

“A ramble through the fields with the family turned into an incredible discovery,” Irvine said. “Finding some unusual pottery among the wheat piqued my interest and prompted some further investigative work.

“Later, looking at the satellite imagery I spotted a very clear crop mark as if someone had drawn on my computer screen with a piece of chalk. This really was the ‘oh wow’ moment, and the beginning of the story.”

The remains of the mosaic measure 11m by almost 7m and form the floor of what is thought to be a large dining or entertaining area.

Though mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings across the Roman empire and often featured famous figures from history and mythology, there are only a handful of depictions of Achilles’ battle with Hector at the conclusion of the Trojan war.

The villa is surrounded by what appear to be aisled barns, circular structures and a possible bathhouse.

Human remains were also found in the rubble covering the mosaic, which was likely interred after the building was no longer occupied.

John Thomas, deputy director of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services and project manager on the excavations, called it “the most exciting Roman mosaic discovery in the UK in the last century”.

“It gives us fresh perspectives on the attitudes of people at the time, their links to classical literature,” he said. “This [the villa’s owner] is someone with a knowledge of the classics, who had the money to commission a piece of such detail, and it’s the very first depiction of these stories that we’ve ever found in Britain.”

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, added that discoveries like this were “so important in helping us piece together our shared history”.

Archaeologists stunned as ‘Britain’s most exciting’ mystery solved after 4,000 years

In 2004, Wessex Archaeologists Ltd were called in by architects to excavate land at Cliffs End Farm prior to building a new housing development.

Suspicions were heightened after earlier investigations showed that the site had been occupied during the early and late Bronze Age, between 2,400BC and 700BC and again in the early Saxon period of 400AD to 600AD.

But what archaeologists found came to be dubbed “Britain’s most exciting historical discovery,” as numerous deposits of human remains were found alongside near-complete carcasses of animals in what was believed to be ritual burials.

Now, more than a decade later, archaeologist Tori Herridge pieced together the exact contents of these mass graves during Channel 4’s “Bone Detectives” series.

She said during Saturday’s show: “It’s hard to believe, but beneath this estate lies one of Britain’s most exciting historical discoveries. 

“Back in 2004, when these houses were still drawings on an architect’s plan and this whole area was a farmer’s field, archaeologists were called in.

“What they found was an extraordinary complex of structures, a deep oval-shaped pit and a disturbing collection of bones, human bones.

“But who were these people and what happened to them?”

Dr Herridge went on to detail more specifics.

She added: “They were excavated, specifically this northeastern corner here in a place called the Isle of Thanet, but not an island today, I hasten to add.

“They were around here between Ramsgate and Sandwich, that’s where they were excavating.”

Dr Herridge then took viewers to look at one skeleton in specific, before asking osteoarchaeologist Jackie McKinley to explain what she had discovered.

Dr McKinley said: “This is from the Late Bronze Age, so it’s ninth to 11th century BC, 3,000 years ago.

“We have 23 individuals in total from this site, most of them were adults.

“We have rather more females than males, overall 12 females to eight males (three unidentified).

“The really interesting ones were the six in situ ones that were associated with the pit, five of which were in the base and this was one of those.”

Dr Herridge explained why this skeleton stuck out to experts the most.

She added: “This is the eldest of the individuals that we had, she was the primary deposit, the first to be deposited in the base of this pit and buried there.

“She was certainly over 55 years of age, it’s quite difficult to age people when they get to that kind of age because you are going on degenerative processes.

“If you look at this one, this is the neck vertebrae and you can see the breakdown in the surface, you’ve got pitting, you’ve got little holes and new bone around the edges.

“This level of wear really shows a very old individual this has happened to.

“If you look up here you can see this incredible amount of wear to the teeth, all the enamel has worn away, so that’s telling me she was very old.”

However, the discovery also apparently proved the people had not been murdered, contrary to original theories.

Dr Herridge continued: “Usually we can’t tell what people die of, there aren’t many acute diseases that affect the bone, but in this instance, I know exactly how she died.

“For that, we just need to look at the skull, she’s been killed quite violently with a sword.”

But even stranger, strontium and oxygen isotope analyses revealed evidence for a mixture of people from the Western Mediterranean, Scandinavia and locals from Kent in the assemblage. 

These long distances are made all the more remarkable as they were undertaken when some of the individuals were between the ages of three and 12.

The discovery suggests that Cliffsend was hugely important in Bronze Age Britain and held a very high spiritual importance to maintaining a strong civilisation.

Large Roman Villa Site in England Surveyed

The scale of a sprawling villa that housed one of the most important mosaics found in Britain in decades has been revealed. The Rutland mosaic was made public in November – but the size of the complex around it was only hinted at.

Now ground-penetrating surveys have shown an area as large as five football pitches, boasting possible formal gardens, a bathhouse and a mausoleum.

Survey lead Dr John Gater said it was the largest site his team had covered.

The mosaic was described by Historic England as “one of the most remarkable and significant… ever found in Britain” and by TV presenter and academic Professor Alice Roberts as “important and exceptional“.

Rather than standard scenes of hunting or mythology, its panels illustrated an unusual version of a scene from the Trojan war, where the warrior Achilles ransoms the body of fallen enemy Hector.

Dated to the 3rd and 4th Century AD, the 11m x 7m (36ft x 23ft) floor, while impressive, was only one time period in, and one part of, the villa.

But for security reasons, its full size and complexity were kept under wraps, except for an admission less than 3% of the site had been excavated.

Now a geophysical survey of the area has been released, showing a complex of structures worthy of such a centrepiece.

One set of scans, which uses magnetic variations, showed the 5-hectare site was surrounded by ditches.

Dr John Gater, of SUMO Geophysics Ltd, said: “This is the largest site we have worked on and on a par with the largest villas in the Cotswolds.

“The ditches could date from the Iron Age, with the villa occupying an already defended area, or they could be Roman, marking the villa.”

But what is inside the huge ditches, shown by the ground-penetrating radar, is remarkable.

Dr Gater said: “To find a mosaic is exciting but to find the whole complex it is part of is really impressive.

“And for me the clarity of the surveys is incredible – you can see not just walls but individual pits and wells.”

While definitive answers will have to wait for archaeologists, the pattern of buildings already found is highly suggestive.

“It looks like a large number of villa buildings, along with a probable bathhouse and perhaps even mausolea and a chapel,” said Dr Gater.

“There is also an aisled building which might be Anglo-Saxon, perhaps showing the use of the site continued after the Romans.”

Excavation work, led by the University of Leicester and funded by Historic England, is due to resume later this year.

Ice Age ‘megafauna’ remains including a mammoth, rhino, hyena and wolf dating back up to 60,000 years are discovered in a Devon cave

The development of Sherford began in 2015 and appeared rather promising. A new town in Devon, England, it would have 5,500 homes and sit near the bustling port city of Plymouth. Fortunately, developers requested archaeologists comb the area before breaking ground — leading to the discovery of animal remains that date back to the Ice Age.

These remains included the tusk, molar tooth, and other bones of a woolly mammoth.

Experts also found the lower jaw and partial skull of a woolly rhinoceros, with a complete wolf skeleton to follow. Other findings include partial remains of a hyena, horse, reindeer, mountain hare, and red fox, plus the bones of bats and shrews.

Led by AC Archaeology and Orion Heritage, the ongoing excavations took place in a cave near old lime kilns and a local quarry. 

According to Sherford officials, the animals died at some point between 30,000 and 60,000 years ago. For the experts involved, this extinct megafauna from Britain’s last Ice Age speaks a thousand words.

“This is a major discovery of national significance — a once-in-a-lifetime experience for those involved,” said lead archaeologist Rob Bourn. “To find such an array of artefacts untouched for so long is a rare and special occurrence. Equally rare is the presence of complete or semi-complete individual animals.”

Fortunately for scientists and historians, requesting heritage institutions to thoroughly search an area prior to construction is commonplace in the United Kingdom.

Sherford Consortium developers did so from the very beginning — thereby preventing the destruction of these priceless remains.

The team has since taken the remains off-site for a thorough examination. While they’ve dated them to the Middle Devensian period, it’s unclear if all the animals involved lived during the same timeframe or died millennia apart. For Victoria Herridge, an expert in fossil elephants at the Natural History Museum in London, much is left to learn:

“Devon then would have been a bitterly cold and dry place to be, even in summer,” she said.

“However, it was also a huge open grassland, capable of supporting vast herds of cold-tolerant animals like the woolly mammoth, the woolly rhino and reindeer, as well as the big carnivores like hyena and wolf that preyed upon them.”

“This is vital knowledge. Scientists are still unravelling what role climate and humans played in the extinction of the woolly mammoth and the woolly rhino — and what we can learn from that to protect species threatened by both today.”

While the fact that these bones were preserved for millennia is astounding, Bourn was more impressed that they stayed intact during the human activity of the modern age: “Construction happening at Sherford is the sole reason these findings have been discovered and it is remarkable that they have laid undisturbed until now.”

On the other hand, the discovery site itself isn’t particularly easy to access for regular folk. It’s likely precisely because of this that the bones remained so well-preserved.

The Sherford Consortium has since guaranteed that this underground area will be closed off, with no public access allowed — or construction atop to follow.

“To have found partial remains of such a range of species here in Devon gives us a brilliant insight into the animals which roamed around Ice Age Britain thousands of years ago, as well as a better understanding of the environment and climate at the time,” said Duncan Wilson, the chief executive of Historic England.

As for the future of these ancient remains themselves, it’s been decided that Plymouth’s new museum The Box will put them on display. With the history of the region safeguarded by those who inhabit it today, museum CEO Victoria Pomery hopes locals will gain warranted insight into their heritage.

“Once all the analysis work is completed it will be a huge honour to care for and display these newly discovered finds, and to play an ongoing part in the public’s understanding of Plymouth and the animals that were here during the Ice Age,” said Pomery.

Whether the animals in question all fell into the pit and died together or merely washed into the cave over time is still a mystery. What is clear, however, is that Devon’s Joint Mitnor cave discovered in 1939 yielded over 4,000 animal bones — and was robbed in 2015 by thieves who stole a 100,000-year-old elephant tooth.

Fortunately, that’s unlikely to occur again, as those in charge appear to be determined to properly guard the newfound site.