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The Northern Antiquarian Forum

Archaeology, folklore & myth of Britain's pre-christian sites & heritage: stone circles, holy wells, maypoles, tombs, archaic cosmologies and human consciousness. Everyone welcome - even Southerners!


2 posters

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010

    QDanT
    QDanT


    Join date : 2011-05-29
    Location : Earby used to be in Yorkshire

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 Empty Dawkabottom 23-02-2010

    Post  QDanT Tue Sep 20, 2011 5:14 am

    History of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society, 1837-1887.
    http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/james-william-davis/history-of-the-yorkshire-geological-and-polytechnic-society-1837-1887-with-bio-hci/page-29-history-of-the-yorkshire-geological-and-polytechnic-society-1837-1887-with-bio-hci.shtml
    CAVE EXPLORATIONS. Page 305
    In December, 1859, a meeting was held at Sheffield, at which
    Mr. Denny contributed a paper on the geological and archseological
    contents of the Victoria and Dowkabottom Caves in Craven. To the
    eastward of Settle, and also near Arncliife, caves have long been
    known in the mountain limestone. Hitherto they had been regarded
    as subterraneous wonders, and had received little or no considera-
    tion as the abodes of man and other animals. In August of this
    year Mr. Denny, accompanied by Mr. O'Callaghan, visited Mr.
    Jackson, of Settle, who had recently discovered a cave at King's Scar,
    a mile and a half from Settle, at an elevation of 1,460 feet above sea
    level. Mr. Jackson had already obtained from the cave ornaments,
    coins, pottery, and mammalian remains, which were inspected at his
    house. The cave had probably three entrances, two of which were
    then partialty closed by the debris of the superincumbent precipitous
    rock. The descent into the cave was rather difficult. Entering by
    a steep fissure it was necessary to crawl through a low and narrow
    passage into a cave, in which the visitor could scarcely stand upright ;
    then through a second contracted aperture into a lofty cavern. The
    floor was covered with stalagmite and clay, and strewn over with
    blocks of limestone which had fallen from the roof. From this cavern
    a third and nearly closed passage afforded an entrance to another large
    compartment. Besides these caves were lateral fissures, whose termi-
    nations were unknown. The floor of the cave consisted first of loose
    stones and loamy soil, beneath which were charcoal ashes mixed
    with bones, antiquarian relics, and earth ; below was clay, stalagmite
    and rock. In some parts the stalagmite rose to the surface, and
    immediately beneath was clay, with bones and relics. In other parts
    the loamy clay with charcoal ashes, containing bones, pottery, and
    other ancient remains, rested upon a solid limestone floor.
    The Dowkabottom Caves, near Arncliife, are situated on a lofty
    plateau of the rocky crags of the Kilnsey Range, 1,250 feet above the
    sea, from which a descent is made into a lofty chamber from whose
    roof hang large masses of stalactite. Turning by a narrow passage to
    the left, a large, lofty cave is entered, a considerable portion of the
    floor of which is covered with stalagmite, owing to the constant flow
    of a rapid stream of water through it from the extreme end of a
    narrow gallery of considerable extent. "Whitaker, in his " History of
    Craven/' thus describes the scenery in which Dowkabottom Cave is
    located : " Dowkabottom Hole is about two miles north from Kiln-
    sey Crag, high up in the hills, and surrounded by cliffs of limestone.
    The entrance is an oblong chasm in the surface, overhung with ivy
    and fern ; at the south end is a narrow but lofty opening into a
    cavern of no great extent. The view downward from the north is
    tremendous. On this side it is very lofty, and extends to a con-
    siderable distance. The rocks at the top, and particularly near the
    entrance, hang down in the most picturesque shapes, and both these
    and the sides are covered with petrified moss, richly tinted."
    In the first chamber of the Dowkabottom Cave some very large
    stones occupied the surface ; on the removal of these was found a
    layer of charcoal ashes nearly 2 feet in thickness, amongst which
    was a fragment of a bronze fibulae. Mr. Hodgson, who excavated
    this spot along with Mr. Farrer, of Ingleborough House, discovered
    the remains of three human skeletons laid in the bed of clay about
    a foot deep. Underneath the clay was a layer of soft stalagmite,
    and at the base of this several skulls and bones of the wolf and goat,
    and the horns of a deer were found. On the first examination of
    these different caves by Mr. Jackson, the bones and teeth of animals
    were found, with relics of human art scattered indiscriminately over
    the floor, or just below the surface in the charcoal ashes previously
    alluded to, and the first specimens obtained, consisting of various
    articles of British and Roman art, coins, bones and teeth of the tiger,
    hyaena, bear, and wild boar, (the latter identified by Dr. Buckland),
    were deposited in the British Museum, and a description was read
    before the Society of Antiquaries of London, by Mr. C. R. Smith.
    The number of personal ornaments and implements of various kinds
    indicated that the several caves were for a considerable period the
    abode of human beings. The investigations of Mr. Jackson had
    resulted in the accumulation of a considerable number of these
    objects. He found about 24 fibulae of bronze, and five of iron, of
    various sizes and appearances, many in fine preservation and highly
    ornamented, some apparently plated with silver. Two bronze armlets
    and four fragments of others, two rings, and bronze articles like studs,
    one long comb, (probably used for the back of the head), and frag-
    ments of another. Portions of what appear to have been small-tooth
    combs made of bone had been found. Six bronze pins, (one of them
    with a flat head the size of a shilling, and plated), bone needles,
    bone spoons, with the handles rudely carved, and the bowls with a
    hole in the centre ; remains of knives, a key, bone arrow heads and
    other implements, and the head of an adze made of trap ; the canine
    teeth probably of the wolf, perforated for ornament ; fragments of
    glass, mostly for ornament ; and pottery of the ordinary Roman red
    or Saurian ware ; and some flint and stone implements, together with
    Roman coins of the date of Trajan and Constantino, were embraced
    in Mr. Jackson's collection. In the exploration of the Dowkabottom
    Cave already alluded to, in addition to the bones mentioned, were
    jaws and skulls of the short-horned ox, the sheep, and the goat, bones
    of the horse, skulls and jaws of the wild boar, the horns of the red
    deer, and pottery of Roman character, and other remains of man.
    It was well known that Yorkshire was inhabited at remote periods by
    the hyaena, bear, tiger, and wolf ; that such animals reside in caves,
    and their bones were frequently found in a fossil state in the caves
    in other parts of the country ; and it was probable that the carnivorous
    species inhabited the caves and carried the remains of other animals
    into them for food. This conjecture was rendered probable from the
    fact that when the caves were first discovered the skulls and bones
    of various animals were strewn over the floors in considerable num-
    bers, but as they were not considered of value in comparison with
    the relics of human art they were neglected, broken, and destroyed.
    The animals identified by Mr. Denny, occurring in the Victoria Cave,
    were the cave tiger, the bear, (Ursus arctos), the badger, hysena, fox,
    wild boar, hare, water-rat, short- horned ox, and the horse ; whilst
    from the Dowkabottom Cave were obtained the wolf, the wild dog,
    ox, wild boar, water-rat, red deer, sheep, goat, short-horned ox, and
    the horse. The facies of the two sets of animal remains appears to
    indicate that whilst the Victoria Cave was occupied by hyaenas, and
    that they dragged into it the remains of other animals brought there
    for food, the Dowkabottom Cave was not a den of hyenas, but appears
    to have been the abode of bears and wolves.
    In March, 1865, Mr. Farrer, of Ingleborough House, along with
    Mr. Denny, contributed the results of further explorations in the
    Dowkabottom Cave. The surface of the western chamber was com-
    posed of 14 inches of broken stone, earth, and charcoal, in which were
    found fragments of pottery, part composed of coarse black earth, and the
    other of red Samian pottery. Below was a bed of clay 18 inches thick,
    resting on a stratum of soft stalagmite, about 3 feet thick, in which the
    bones of several animals were obtained. The soft stalagmite rested
    on a bed of hard stalagmite, 8 inches in thickness, upon which lay a
    nearly perfect skeleton of a very fine specimen of the gigantic red
    deer, with antlers of great beauty. An excavation was made to the
    depth of 6 feet, passing through clay mixed with stones and gravel ;
    and a boring rod was inserted for a further distance of 6 feet through
    soft clay, without reaching any bottom. The chamber eastwards
    from the opening was also examined, and beneath 18 inches of clay
    the hard stalagmite was dug through down to the rock, 4 yards and
    a half in thickness. A flint implement was found, along with horns
    of the red deer, and a portion of the left antler of the gigantic Irish
    elk (Megaceros Hibernicus), which forms the second instance of
    the remains occurring in Yorkshire. Shortly before the reading of
    the paper, whilst exploring the west chamber, about 4 yards from the
    spot where the skeleton of the red deer was discovered, a slight
    hollow or grave was disclosed, which had been dug in the hard stalag-
    mite, measuring 1 foot long, 8 inches wide, and H inches in depth,
    in which were the remains of a skeleton of a child probably 2 years
    of age. The bones were in a very imperfect and fragile condition,
    and were embedded in the superimposed soft stalagmite. The whole
    of the bones and other objects obtained during these excavations are
    stated to have been presented to the Museum of the Leeds Philo-
    sophical Society by Mr. Farrer. The two chambers extend conjointly
    390 feet in length, and as the entrance to another fresh cave had
    been discovered, additional and important results might be expected,
    it being Mr. Farrer's intention to make a further examination of the
    new cave.

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 Map

    went for a look see via the Cairns

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 01

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 02

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 03

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 04

    this caught my eye

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 05

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 06

    then a view of the Cave

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 08

    with this at the bottom of the slope

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 07

    the Bear whisked up a pancake

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 09dinner

    it was getting abit cold for the gas and the squeezy Honey was frozen solid !

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 10dinner

    just thought I'd share cheers cheers Danny


    Last edited by QDanT on Tue Sep 20, 2011 6:16 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : added tour date)
    Paulus
    Paulus


    Join date : 2009-08-20
    Location : Yorkshire

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 Empty Re: Dawkabottom 23-02-2010

    Post  Paulus Tue Sep 20, 2011 5:40 am

    Excellent as ever Danny! But...is this from a visit this week, or last year? Do we have snow in the hills??? bounce bounce bounce
    QDanT
    QDanT


    Join date : 2011-05-29
    Location : Earby used to be in Yorkshire

    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 Empty December 1859

    Post  QDanT Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:54 am

    Hi Paulus, December 1859 ! the Bear’s a dimension time traveller ! whizzing
    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 Torsion-animated
    altered 1st post title - cheers Danny


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    Dawkabottom 23-02-2010 Empty Re: Dawkabottom 23-02-2010

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