Merlin's Cave
Excavation
T.F. Hewer, 1924-27; C.W. Phillips, 1928-29; R.N.E. Barton, 1996.
Curation
UBSS Museum; Bristol City Museum; Natural History Museum London.
Burials
MNI: 6 (5 adults, 1 juvenile).
Finds
Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pottery, Romano-British artefacts, animal bones.
Dates
| Period | Reliability |
|---|---|
| Late Bronze Age | Stratigraphical context of human remains indeterminate |
| Early Iron Age | Stratigraphical context of human remains indeterminate |
14C
10,020bp (OxA-516) on animal bone from “Great Doward Cave”.
Additional Notes
Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age.
External References
| National Monuments Record | SO 51 NW 23 |
| Sites and Monument Record | 3358 |
| Scheduled Ancient Monuments | 13692 |
| Cambrian Caving Council Record | F124 |
| Gloucestershire and Wye Valley Cave Registry | 176 |
Bibliography
Barton, R.N.E. (1996) Fourth interim report on the survey and excavations in the Wye Valley, 1996. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 20 (3): 263-273.
Bate, D.M.A. (1901) A short account of a bone cave in the Carboniferous Limestone of the Wye Valley. Geological Magazine 8: 101-106.
Branigan, K. & Dearne, M.J. (1991) A Gazetteer of Romano-British Cave Sites and their Finds. Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield.
Gowlett, J.A.J. et al. (1986a) Radiocarbon dates from the Oxford AMS system: Archaeometry Datelist 3. Archaeometry 28: 116-125.
Harrison, C.J.O. (1980) A re-examination of British Devensian and earlier Holocene bird bones in the British Museum (Natural History). Journal of Archaeological Science 7: 53-68.
Hewer, T.F. (1924) First report on excavations in the Wye Valley. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 2 (2): 147-155.
Hewer, T.F. (1925) Second report on excavations in the Wye Valley. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 2 (3): 216-228.
Hinton, M.A.C. (1924) Preliminary note upon the mammalian remains from Merlin’s Cave. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 2 (2): 156-158.
Kennard, A.S. & Woodward, B.B. (1924) Report on the non-marine mollusca of Merlin’s Cave. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 2 (2): 162.
Newton, E.T. (1924) Note on birds’ bones from Merlin’s Cave. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 2 (2): 159-161.
Parry, C. (1994) Symonds Yat promontory fort, English Bicknor, Gloucestershire: excavations 1990-91. Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 112: 59-72.
Phillips, C.W. (1931) Final report on the excavations at Merlin’s Cave, Symonds Yat. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Speleological Society 4 (1): 11-33.
Article Author Graham Mullan