ConnyWaters – AncientPagec.com – The oldest human remains found in Northern Britain have been identified as those of a young female, three years after their discovery in a Cumbrian cave.
Local archaeologist Martin Stables excavated the 11,000-year-old bones at Heaning Wood Bone Cave in Great Urswick, Cumbria, providing clear evidence of Mesolithic burials in the North.
Heaning Wood Bone Cave in Great Urswick, Cumbria. Credit: University of Lancashire
An international team led by University of Lancashire archaeologists extracted sufficient DNA to identify the remains as a female child aged between 2.5 and 3.5 years.
“It is the first time we have been able to be so specific about the age of a child whose remains are so old and be certain that they are from a female,” said lead researcher Dr. Rick Peterson.
Drone image from above cave towards Urswick tarn. Credit: University of Lancashire
The team has determined that these remains represent the third-oldest Mesolithic burial in North West Europe and provide some of the earliest evidence of human activity in Britain after the last Ice Age. Recently discovered jewelry at the site, including a perforated deer tooth and additional beads, has been carbon-dated to 11,000 years ago.
“Dating the jewelry to the same time frame as the remains provides more evidence that this was a deliberate burial and opens up conversations about the significance of cave burials during this period,” added Rick.
“Modern hunter-gatherer groups often see caves as a gateway into the spirit world, and this may be why we see so many caves used for burial by Early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in northern Europe.”
A fragment of maxilla (upper jaw and face) of the ‘oldest northerner.’ Credit: University of Lancashire
Local archaeologist Martin Stables led the excavations at the site. As a native of Great Urswick, he wanted the Mesolithic girl’s remains to be named to connect her with her resting place. He chose the name ‘Ossick Lass,’ which means Urswick girl in the local vernacular.
Martin is a self-taught archaeologist, motivated by his interest in the village’s prehistoric past.
He said: “It’s nearly 10 years since I started the excavations in July 2016, and I couldn’t have envisaged the journey I have undertaken. It’s as if I’ve went back in time to 9,000 BC.
“In doing so, I traveled through the Bronze and Neolithic Ages, discovering some of those who lived then and what they left behind. Ultimately, reaching the Mesolithic Period has obviously become the highlight of the excavation and something that’s particularly poignant to myself. Effectively, I was the first to bear witness to the obviously caring burial of someone’s child that occurred over 11,000 years ago.
3D microscope images of the Mesolithic shell beads. Credit: University of Lancashire
“The publication of this research paper is an important stage, that in due course, allows us to reveal further information about this unique site of national importance. My journey continues, but in the present as this is just the beginning and there is much more we plan to tell.”
Martin Stables underground in Heaning Wood Bone Cave. Credit: University of Lancashire
Earlier human remains are known from southern England and Wales, but the destructive effects of past glaciations mean that such finds are rare in northern Britain. Before this discovery, the ‘earliest northerner’ was a 10,000-year-old burial from the nearby Kent’s Bank Cavern discovered in 2013.
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Alongside the 11,000-year-old remains, the University team proved that at least eight different people were buried in the cave, with evidence showing they were all deliberate burials. All are from three different dates in the prehistoric past: around 4,000 years ago in the Early Bronze Age, approximately 5,500 years ago in the Early Neolithic, and around 11,000 years ago in the very early Mesolithic.
The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society Journal
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
