'Oldest Northerner' remains found by archaeologists in Cumbria cave
Video report by Granada Reports journalist Tim Scott
The earliest human remains ever found in the North have been discovered by archaeologists at a site in Cumbria.
The fragments of human bone were found at the Heaning Wood Bone Cave cave near Ulverston by an international team led by archaeologists at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
The remains can be traced back 11,000 years - 1,000 years older than the previous known 'earliest northerner’ - which was discovered at Kent’s Bank Cavern, Morecambe Bay in 2013.
UCLan’s Dr Rick Peterson and PhD student Keziah Warburton have examined the human remains and prehistoric artefacts excavated in Cumbria by local archaeologist Martin Stables.
Archaeology reader, Dr Peterson, said: "This is a fantastic discovery! We’ve been delighted to confirm Martin’s unbelievable find dates back around 11,000-year-ago and gives us clear evidence of Mesolithic burials in the North.
"This is particularly exciting as these are some of the earliest dates for human activity in Britain after the end of the last Ice Age."
Dr Peterson has been digging near the site for seven years and has discovered a variety of remains and objects including human and animal bones, stone tools, prehistoric pottery and beads made from perforated periwinkle shells.
Due to the destructive effect of past glaciations in the Northern region of the UK, it means that such finds are rare.
The UCLan team have proved that at least eight people were buried in the cave.
The artefacts accompanying the remains make it likely that these were deliberate burials.
The results show the cave was used for burials at three different periods in the prehistoric past:
Around 4,000-years-ago in the Early Bronze Age
Approximately 5,500-years-ago in the Early Neolithic
Around 11,000-years-ago during the very early part of the Mesolithic period.
A date on one of the shell beads was discovered which showed it was around 11,000-years-old and was likely to have been used during a burial.
Cumbrian archaeologist Martin said: “I never expected anything like the Early Mesolithic connection in my wildest dreams.
"After six years digging it’s all ended up in a place I never expected it to get to.
"I can’t wait to hear all the final results, it’s staggering so far, difficult to imagine what it would have been like around here over 11,000-years-ago.”
Rick added that Cave burials like this are "well known from some periods of British prehistory".
He continued: "Heaning Wood burials are an important addition to our knowledge of funeral practices.
"Together with the slightly later dates from Kent’s Bank Cavern, it shows, as people re-occupied the land, how important the whole of Britain was to this process.”
Research will continue on the site and a detailed study looking at what happened to each person after they were buried in the cave is ongoing.
Scientists have sampled the burials to look for ancient DNA evidence which could potentially show the origin of the people buried and how they were related.
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