- Kents Cavern
Kents Cavern is a
cave system inTorquay ,Devon ,England . It is notable for its archaeological and geological features. The caves are a geologicalSite of Special Scientific Interest (since 1952) and aScheduled Ancient Monument (since 1957), and are open to the public. [English Nature, " [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000875.pdf Kents Cavern] ", Natural England (accessed 2007-02-18)] bbc.co.uk, " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/3867385.stm Visitor centre for ancient caves] ", BBC (accessed 2007-02-18)]Prehistory
The caverns and passages at the site were created around 2 million years ago by water action, and have been occupied by one of at least eight separate, discontinuous native populations to have inhabited the
British Isles . [ [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/ahob/AHOBI/index_2.html Human Occupation of the British Isles Project ] ] The specimens discovered here are representative of the era's people (the other representative populations arePakefield , Boxgrove, Swanscombe,Pontnewydd , Kent’s Cavern/Paviland, Gough's Cave and the present descendants of Celtic lineage).Kents Cavern 4
A prehistoric
maxilla (upper jawbone) fragment was discovered in the cavern during a 1927 excavation by theTorquay Natural History Society , and named "Kents Cavern 4." It is thought to be between 37,000 and 40,000 years old, and although previously it was thought to only be 31,000 years old, it has been recently re-dated. Whether the specimen belongs to "Homo sapiens ", as originally described, or "Homo neanderthalensis " as may now be possible, remains a mystery. The specimen is on display at theTorquay Museum .Modern History
As an archæological site
Kents Cavern is first recorded as Kents Hole Close on a 1659 deed when the land was leased to John Black.John R. Pike, Torquay (Torquay: Torbay Borough Council Printing Services, 1994), 5] The earliest evidence of exploration of the caves in historic times are the inscriptions "William Petre 1571" and "Robert Hedges 1688" engraved on
stalagmite s, and the first recordedexcavation was that of Thomas Northmore in 1824. Northmore's work attracted the attention of Dean Buckland, the first Reader in Geology at theUniversity of Oxford , who sent a party includingJohn MacEnery to explore the caves in an attempt to find evidence thatMithras was once worshipped in the area.Percy Russell, A History Of Torquay (Torquay: Devonshire Press Limited, 1960), 107] MacEnery, theRoman Catholic chaplain atTorre Abbey , conducted systematic excavations between 1824 and 1829. When MacEnery reported to theBritish Association the discovery offlint tool s below the stalagmites on the cave floor, his work was derided as contrary to Bishop James Ussher'sBiblical chronology dating the Creation to 4004 BC. [Russell, 108]In September 1845 the recently created Torquay Natural History Society requested permission from Sir Lawrence Palk to explore the caves in order to obtain
fossil s and artifacts for the planned Torquay Museum, and as a result Edward Vivian andWilliam Pengelly were allowed to conduct excavations between 1846 and 1858. Vivian reported to theGeological Society in 1847, but at the time it was generally believed that early humans had entered the caves long after the formation of the cave structures examined.Russell, 109] This changed when in the Autumn of 1859, following the work of Pengelly at Kents Cavern and caves inBrixham and ofJacques de Perthes inFrance , theRoyal Society , the Society of Antiquaries, and the British Association agreed that the excavations had established the antiquity of humanity.In 1865 the British Association created a committee, led by Pengelly, to fully explore the cave system over the course of fifteen years. It was Pengelly's party that discovered Robert Hedges' stalagmite inscription, and from the stalagmite's growth since that time deduced that human-created artifacts found under the formation could be half a million years old. [Pike, 5-6] Pengelly plotted the position of every bone, flint, and other artifact he discovered during the excavations, and afterwards continued working with the Torquay Natural History Society until his death at his home less than 2 km from the caves in 1892. [Russell, 110]
As a tourist attraction
In 1903 Kents Cavern, then part of Lord Haldon's estate, was sold to Francis Powe, a carpenter who originally used the caves as a workshop while making
beach hut s for the Torquay sea front. Powe's son, Leslie Powe, turned the caves into a tourist attraction by layingconcrete paths and installingelectric lighting , and building visitor facilities which were later improved in turn by his son John Powe. [bbc.co.uk, " [http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features/2003/kents_cavern.shtml Kents Cavern in Torquay celebrates 100 years under the same ownership] ", BBC (accessed 2007-02-18)] The caves, now owned by Nick Powe, celebrated 100 years of Powe family ownership on23rd August 2003 with special events including an archæological dig for children and a display by a cave rescue team. [bbc.co.uk, " [http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/family_friendly/kents_cavern_100.shtml Special events mark Kents Cavern's centenary] ", BBC (accessed 2007-02-18)] A year later a new £500,000 visitor centre was opened, including arestaurant andgift shop .Attracting 80,000 tourists a year, Kents Cavern is an important tourist attraction and this was recognised in 2000 when it was awarded Showcave of the Year award and later in November 2005 when it was awarded a prize for being Torbay's Visitor Attraction of the year.
References
External links
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* [http://www.kents-cavern.co.uk/ Kents Cavern homepage]
* [http://faculty.jsd.claremont.edu/dmcfarlane/KentsCavern/index.htm Geochronology of Kents Cavern]
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