Hoyle's Mouth Cave
Excavation
Col. Jervis, 1840; G.N. Smith, 1860-1866; H.H. Winwood et al., 1865; Stephen Aldhouse-Green 1986-96
Curation
Bolton Museum; Bristol Museum; Tenby Museum; Manchester Museum; National Museum of Wales, Cardiff (86.91H, 90.35H, 96.10H).
Burials
MNI: 2+ (adults).
Finds
Flint artefacts, animal bones.
Dates
| Period | Reliability |
|---|---|
| Neolithic | 14C date obtained directly on human remains |
14C
4265 bp (OxA-6231), 4225 bp (OxA-6232) on human bone.
External References
| Royal Commission CARN Database | 304237 |
| Sites and Monument Record | 4309, 14209 |
| Scheduled Ancient Monuments | Pe 427 |
| Cambrian Caving Council Record | 933 |
Bibliography
Bevins, R. et al. (2025) Lithological and geochemical characterization of ‘adinole’ artefacts from cave deposits in southwest Wales: a material of choice during the late Middle to Upper Palaeolithic. Quaternary Environments and Humans. 3. 1.
Campbell, S. & Bowen, D.Q. (1989) Geological Conservation Review. Quaternary of Wales. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough.
David, A. (1991) Late glacial archaeological residues from Wales: a selection. In Barton, N. et al. (eds) The Late Glacial in North-West Europe. CBA Research Report 77. Council for British Archaeology, London, pp.141-159.
Garrod, D.A.E. (1926) Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Green, H.S. & Walker, E. (1991) Ice Age Hunters. Neanderthals and Early Modern Hunters in Wales. National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.
Jones, E.L. (1882) On the exploration of two caves in the neighbourhood of Tenby. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 38: 282-288.
Laws, E. (1888) The History of Little England Beyond Wales, and the Non-Kymric Colony Settled in Pembrokeshire. London, Bell. pp5-6.
Leach, A.L. (1913) Stone implements from soil drifts and chipping floors in south Pembrokeshire. Archaeologia Cambrensis 13: 391-432.
Leach, A.L. (1918) Some Prehistoric Remains in the Tenby Museum. Tenby.
Leach, A.L. (1945) The Rev. G.N. Smith: a Pembrokeshire antiquary. Archaeologia Cambrensis 98: 248-254.
Savory, H.N. (1973) Excavations at The Hoyle, Tenby, in 1968. Archaeologia Cambrensis 122: 18-34.
Smith, G.N. (1860) On three undescribed bone caves near Tenby, Pembrokeshire. Reports of the British Association 30: 101-102.
Smith, G.N. (1862) Report of a successful search for flint implements in a cave called “the Oyle”, near Tenby, South Wales, in June and July, 1862. The Geologist 6: 47-50.
Smith, G.N. (1864) The Pembrokeshire bone and flint-knife caves in regard to the antiquity of man. Archaeologia Cambrensis 342-345.
Walker, E.A., Case, D., Peterson, R., Aldhouse-Green, S., Eastham, A., Faillaace, K., Ingrem, C., Jones, J.R., Jones, W.B., Madgwick, R. & Warburton, K. (2026) Hoyle’s Mouth, Tenby, Wales: Stephen Aldhouse-Green’s excavations 1986-1996. Proceedings of the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society 30 (2): 73-131.
Winwood, H.H. (1865) Exploration of the “Hoyle’s Mouth” cave, near Tenby. The Geological Magazine 2: 471-473.
Article Author Graham Mullan