Creswell Crags

Creswell Crags is an important site for understanding the humans, animals, and past environments of the Ice Age. The site is home to more than 20 caves and rock shelters, which have yielded rich deposits of archaeological and palaeontological material now on display in the Museum.

The earliest material is from the last interglacial, a warm period 125,000 years ago, during which hippopotamus, narrow-nosed rhinoceros and hyaenas were present in the landscape. Later, during the middle of the last glacial period (55,000 to 40,000 years ago), cold adapted animals were present, such as woolly mammoth, woolly rhinoceros and reindeer, alongside hyaenas again. Hyaenas are an important part of the Creswell Crags story; they denned in the caves, as evidenced by remains of the hyaenas themselves, including a remarkably well-preserved juvenile. They also brought the remains of their prey into the caves, and many of these bones show evidence of hyaena damage.

No humans were present in Creswell Crags, nor in wider Britain, during the last interglacial. However, the last glacial period saw two human species. Around 55,000 to 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals inhabited the area, leaving behind large numbers of their stone tools. Later, there were multiple visits by early modern humans, as evidenced through their stone and bone tools. They also left behind evidence of their diet: mountain hare and wild horse, dated to around 15,000 to 13,600 years ago.

Significantly, early modern humans also made their marks on the cave walls themselves. Recognised in 2003, the rock art at Creswell Crags was the first evidence of Ice Age rock art in the whole of Britain. Dated to more than 12,600 years ago, the engravings include depictions of red deer and bison. Britain's oldest work of art, a fine engraving of a horse on animal rib bone, was found in Robin Hood Cave.

More marks were discovered later, revealed in February 2019 to be the largest collection of apotropaic (or witch marks) in the UK. This news was reported around the world.