Nanna's Cave
Excavation
1858; J.C. Carter & W. Clarke, 1911; A.L. Leach, 1913; J. van Nedervelde, 1950-51 & 1973-86.
Curation
Tenby Museum; National Museum of Wales, Cardiff (63.335, 88.67H, 90.57H, 91.9H, 91.18H).
Burials
MNI: 4+ (3 adults, 1 juvenile).
Finds
Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic flint flakes and scrapers, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age & Romano-British artefacts, worked antler, shale armlet, glass bead, animal bones.
Dates
| Period | Reliability |
|---|---|
| Neolithic | 14C date obtained directly on human remains |
14C
4560, 4520 bp (OxA-7739, OxA-7740) on human bone.
External References
| Royal Commission CARN Database | 305461 |
| Sites and Monument Record | 4249 to 4254, 4894, 11996, 13073 |
| Scheduled Ancient Monuments | Pe 425 |
| Cambrian Caving Council Record | 1065 |
Bibliography
Branigan, K. & Dearne, M.J. (1991) A Gazetteer of Romano-British Cave Sites and their Finds. Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield.
Bronk Ramsey, C., Pettitt, P.B., Hedges, R.E.M., Hodgins, G.W.L. & Owen, D.C. (2000) Radiocarbon dates from the Oxford AMS system: Archaeometry datelist 30. Archaeometry 42 (2): 459-479.
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.
Davies, M. (1989) Recent advances in cave archaeology in southwest Wales. In Ford, T.D. (ed.) Limestones and Caves of Wales. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 79-91.
Green, H.S. & Walker, E. (1991) Ice Age Hunters. Neanderthals and Early Modern Hunters in Wales. National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.
Lacaille, A.D. & Grimes, W.F. (1956) The prehistory of Caldey. Archaeologia Cambrensis 104: 85-165.
Lacaille, A.D. & Grimes, W.F. (1961) The prehistory of Caldey, Part 2. Archaeologia Cambrensis 110: 37-39, 60-63.
Leach, A.L. (1916) Nanna’s Cave, Isle of Caldey. Archaeologia Cambrensis 6th series, 16: 155-180.
Leach, A.L. (1917) Supplementary notes on Nanna’s Cave, Isle of Caldey. Archaeologia Cambrensis 17: 71-79.
Schulting, R.J. & Richards, M.P. (2002) Finding the coastal Mesolithic in southwest Britain: AMS dates and stable isotope results on human remains from Caldey Island, South Wales. Antiquity 76: 1011-1025.
Van Nedervelde, J. & Davies, M. (1976) Nanna’s Cave. Archaeology in Wales 16: 24.
Article Author Graham Mullan