Excavations at Charterhouse Warren Farm Swallet first took place between 1972 and 1976 and led to the discovery of a deposit containing several horizons of archaeological activity. These terminated with Iron Age and Roman inhumations and the earliest deposits, though not yet absolutely dated, are probably Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. The failure to discover a cave system after excavating the deposit to a depth of twenty metres led to the abandonment of the venture, but renewed interest in 1984 resulted in the eventual discovery of the cave system late in that year. The discovery of the caves and of the bone deposits in the Upper Caves is described and detailed geomorphological and archaeological surveys are discussed and analysed. The former describes the formation processes involved including a discussion of the origin and development of the cave and an analysis of the sequence of sediment fills. The origin and development of the cave are discussed in terms of the structural control which is related to several near vertical fractures in some places and bedding planes in other areas of the cave. The sediment sequence is shown to be complicated and is divided into an initial siliceous allochthonous fill, followed by various autochthonous fills. The description of the sediment analysis also includes a detailed discussion of the emplacement of the bone-bearing fill. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the artefacts and bones. The artefacts, though not very numerous, are an important and, in some respects, unique assemblage with a Beaker, several ‘sponge finger’ stones and a flint assemblage including a fine dagger being among the prominent finds. The bone report considers the two deposits separately and concludes that the many similarities imply a broadly similar date. An important feature of the bone assemblage is the human bones: those with knife cuts from Horizon 2 of the Entrance Shaft and the infant human bones from Horizon 4 of the Entrance Shaft. These are likely to be ritual deposits and are related to the placement of the artefacts. Bones of aurochs are present in Horizon 1 of the Entrance Shaft and are the latest known survival of this species in Britain. Human and aurochs bones are also present in the cave and the distribution of these and other bones is analysed in detail. The non-human bones, in contrast to the human bones appear to relate to domestic activities, with husbandry centred on cattle and pig implying an open woodland environment. The report is concluded with a general discussion of the importance of the archaeology of the site in a regional context. The chronology of the Entrance Shaft sequence is considered and comparisons with Beaker and Neolithic sites indicate that the basal part of the sequence is Neolithic, the Beaker horizon possibly representing a desanctification of the Neolithic burial deposits in the Beaker period. The environment of the locality is also considered: the region may have been more extensively wooded than at present and the swallet provided a damp micro-habitat for shade/damp loving species of mollusca, amphibia etc.

Late Quaternary deposits and geomorphological features within a radius of about 4 km of Wells, Somerset, England are reviewed. The earliest well dated occurrence is the Hippopotamus fauna from Milton Hill, assigned to the warm interglacial episode corresponding to Oxygen Isotope stage 5e in deep sea cores. The dissected Keward gravel is thought to be older, perhaps O.I.S. 6. The Wookey Hole ravine developed during the early part of the last glaciation (O.I.S. 5?), the Ebbor gorge later (O.I.S. 3?) The Wells and Wookey Station gravel spreads, the former with woolly rhinoceros and ?mammoth are correlated with the maximum glacial advance of the Late Devensian.

Fresh study of the fossil birds from Soldier’s Hole, Cheddar, confirms the importance of this collection with a British Late Pleistocene context. The birds allow valuable insights as to the local environment both in Middle or early Late Devensian time and more especially during the Lateglacial.

The Fergus River springs have the largest catchment (115 sq km) of any of the Burren resurgences, the drainage area reaching almost to Galway Bay in the north. The catchment has been delimited with reasonable accuracy using water tracing and computation of specific runoff values. The drainage system feeding to the Fergus springs, including the Fergus River Cave, may be of considerable antiquity and there is some evidence that part of the drainage to St. Brendan’s Well at Lisdoonvarna is being captured by the Fergus system.

On June 14th and 15th 1904, Martel visited the caves at Cheddar and Wookey Hole and also saw other cave entrances and karst features on the Mendip Hills in Somerset. He noted particularly the way that caves there were entered by digging, the significance of the Dolomitic Conglomerate in determining the age of some of the caves and the subsidence of Wells Cathedral supposedly caused by St. Andrews Well. His visit is examined in the wider context of his deliberate ‘internationalisation’ of cave studies.

Legend states that Jack and Nancy Beauchamp showed Gough’s Old Cave to the public in the 19th century and then went into partnership with R.C. Gough. Other evidence shows that a John Weeks managed the cave at that time. It is shown here, from primary sources, that ‘Jack and Nancy’ were in fact John and Ann Weeks and some account of their activity is given.

Between October 13 1817 and July 12 1852, Lewis Weston Dillwyn of Swansea kept a detailed diary of his life. A wealthy landowner and naturalist with an interest in geology, Dillwyn was in contact with other prominent men such as William Buckland of Oxford. In particular, entries in his diary give greater details and accurate dates of the first examinations of Paviland Cave and correctly identify other people that were involved including Mary Theresa Talbot of Penrice.

Buxton Museum holds the largest surviving group of original papers of Sir William Boyd Dawkins (1837-1929) and nearly the entire body of papers of his student Dr. J. Wilfred Jackson (1880-1978). Both scientists specialised in the study of Quaternary mammalian remains, especially from cave sites, and made many important and fundamental contributions in these fields in Somerset. Dawkins’ very first excavations were in Mendip caves and he also made important contributions early in his career to the geology and palaeontology of the Rhaetic of Somerset. This paper provides a brief outline of the scope and content of the original letters, manuscripts, annotated proofs, drawings and photographs relating to Somerset geology and archaeology held in Buxton Museum.

Since 1971 660 m of the cave, including all the passage beyond Sump 7, has been explored and surveyed bringing the total length to 8.80 km. A revised survey includes this and also corrects some earlier inaccuracies. Details of explorations up to October 1987 are given.

A previously unknown account of the discovery of White Spot Cave in 1887 is printed, with a letter from Boyd Dawkins.

Field walking in the winter of 1986-87 located a disturbed localised concentration of 2nd-4th century Romano-British pottery sherds on ploughed ground near the eastern Mendip village of Holwell.

Archaeological remains are noted from field-walking along the route of the Nunney Catch Bypass. Material from bridge and road construction has been spread on neighbouring fields. An area west of Holwell was also examined.