UBSS Monthly Newsletter

Well, a lot has certainly changed since our last newsletter. At the time we went to press last time, there were no restrictions on caving or everyday life, but now we're only allowed out for one form of exercise a day, and most caving activities have now come to an end. We were able to hold our AGM and Annual Dinner just before the Covid-19 restrictions began to bite and, as far as we know, none of the attendees suffered anything worse than a necessary detox (from the lingering effects of entering a Wetherspoons) and a crashing hangover from the dinner and after party, of which we'll hear more later.

The following Tuesday, we had to be a little more creative, and the scheduled committee meeting was held online. Naturally, much faff ensued, but we got there in the end. Weekly socials have also become creative, too, and last week's online game of Cards Against Humnanity was a great success, with Mia winning by a comfortable margin.

The challenge will be to keep this newsletter going in the absence of weekly caving trips and other socials, but we have every intention or rising - or should that be descending? - to the occasion, and you can help by sending us as much material as possible every month. Stuck for something to write about? There are endless possibilities: your first cave, your favourite cave, the scene of your worst hangover, what changes you've seen in your time in the club.... come on, folks, you get the drift! Yay, writing!

Back issues of this newsletter can be found here.

Linda and Mia

FAREWELL TO DESMOND DONOVAN

Desmond at home in Wells, 25th July 2019

I'm sorry to have to report that Desmond Donovan, former society treasurer, museum curator and vice-president died on 23 December 2019 aged 98.

Desmond was the oldest member present at our centenary celebrations at Wookey Hole last year. I remember him saying, several years earlier, when asked about the centenary, that he had 'every intention' of attending, and that was exactly what he did, driving himself to and from Wookey Hole and his home in Wells in his Smart car. Later in the year, I had the great pleasure of being present when Lena Ferriday interviewed Desmond as part of our Travels Beneath the Earth centenary oral history project.

During the interview, Desmond recalled how he was introduced to caving in St. Beatus-Höhlen in Switzerland, a cave opened as a show cave by Herman Hartmann, a friend of his father. At that time, about a kilometre of the cave was open to the public as a show cave. Desmond was interested in both caving and archaeology, and as part of family holidays had often visited Wells Museum in Somerset, presided over at the time by well-known caver HE Balch. Desmond would later become curator of Wells Musem, and also the UBSS museum, which he first learned about through Balch's books. Desmond came to university in Bristol about a month after the war started and was the only geology student that year. His first Mendip cave was Sidcot Swallet and his first caving helmet was a discarded trilby hat.

His recollections of his long involvement in caving and the UBSS were fascinating. Lena and I spent three hours with him and thoroughly enjoyed listening to his detailed memories. A full obituary will appear in our Proceedings, and extracts from the interview will appear in future newsletters.

Providing the country is out of lockdown by then there will be a celebration of Desmond's life on Saturday 13th June 2020 at Wells Museum. Desmond's family welcome anyone who knew him to join them. If you would like to be there, please contact Dan Donovan. I'll advise of any changes to this as and when we hear more.

Linda Wilson

AGM, DINNER, AWARDS AND PARTY

AGM AND TALK

The day started with a packed AGM in our reopened museum and library in the Stables, where the new staircase was duly admired by all. Elaine presided over her first AGM, whilst perfecting her Bob Churcher style 'I'll keep it brief...'. The proceedings were as uncontentious and rapid as we have come to expect. After that, Haydon gave us an entertaining look at various caving areas and enthused members about the prospect of caving at home and abroad.

POST AGM WALK

After the AGM, Zac, Sam, Imogen, Jacob, Simon, Stuart, Sioned and I went for a walk around Bristol to find some holes in the ground using our brand new copies of Somerset Underground (thanks, Graham!). It was a lovely sunny day and we even had a go on the ‘slide’ near Clifton Suspension Bridge. Happy times.

Mia Jacobs

ANNUAL DINNER

The UBSS annual dinner 2020 assembled cavers from near and far, welcoming both new and familiar faces. Merriment and mingling commenced at the Berkeley (Wetherspoons), where we were by far the best dressed customers! Then we migrated to our dinner venue, the Square, where we enjoyed a prosecco reception in the very fancy lounge area before being seated at our tables. Wine started flowing (and kept on flowing), food was devoured, and announcements were made – notably, the annual awards – keep reading to find out!

I decided as a part of my fundraiser for Mind to run around the square in my dinner dress. To reiterate my post in the UBSS Facebook group, I perhaps had a few wines too many to properly pull through (Strava tells me that the run lasted 34 seconds). Nonetheless, I have been ploughing through my final miles, averaging on 4 per day until I injured my knee! Together UBSS contributed a massive £70 at the dinner, and various members have been donating throughout the course of my fundraiser, too. A large proportion of my current total (£725.78) comes from the generosity of this society, and I would like to give you all a massive thank you! I intend to complete the rest of my miles all in one day as soon as my knee is in a state to do so.

Mia Jacobs

AWARDS

Disco Slippers Award: Henry Morgan (for enthusiasm in the face of recent renovations to the Hut roof)
Moaning Myrtle Award for most complaining underground: Imogen Clements
Lightweight of the Year: Merryn Matthews
Masterchef Award for the worst diet: Megan Malpas
Golden Gloves Award for best caving injury: Esther Benson (for spraining her ankle in OFD and going caving the next day anyway)
Best Worm: Mia Jacobs and Si Hadfield
Tea Party Award: Cat Henry (for vomiting into a mug while feeding Eddie, but managing not to spill any on him)
Golden Kettle Award for services to water-heating devices: Haydon Saunders
Dead or Alive Award: Henry Morgan (for heroic actions [disrobing and spinning it right round like a record] in a dire situation [a joint Christmas party with a boring club])
Hide and Seek Award: Andrew's undersuit (for escaping and evading us for a full seven months, leading us to capture and subsequently have to return a decoy from a Yorkshire club, before turning up … in Andrew's cupboard)
Buff Fresher of the Year: Mia Jacobs
President of the Year: Elaine Oliver

Elaine Oliver

AFTER PARTY

We all went back to mine post the annual dinner. Top marks to Sioned and Simon for finding it first! After a swift booze run, the caving games ensued. It would appear that the pans in my house are only for those who are skilled in pan and sling (too small, apparently), so this was quickly abandoned, and we moved onto bottle walking. After incredible efforts from both Haydon and Jacob, the award for ‘best effort’ must surely go to Si. He was apparently so determined to succeed that he entered a boxing match with the floor. Unfortunately, one swift uppercut to his chin from the vinyl halted Si in his tracks, however he returned after a short hiatus to face his nemesis once again. After this, and some (futile) attempts to persuade a certain someone, who may have ‘peaked too soon’ after the dinner wine, to go to bed, a cereal box was found, with Jacob apparently having an old score to settle with Elaine on this front.

The pack was whittled down, with some interesting ‘chicken laying an egg’ impressions courtesy of Imogen, among other extreme athletic feats. We ended up with three (Elaine, Jacob and myself), at which point we decided the only way to settle this was to go outside, and stand on paving slabs to reduce the apparent height of the box even further. This got (extremely) competitive and even resulted in the removal of certain pieces of clothing to ‘eliminate any restrictions to getting down’. It was at this point that a certain neighbour (who shall remain anonymous, because I don’t actually know who they are) decided that they had had enough, and so we dejectedly trundled back inside. It appears a rematch is required, until next time, Elaine and Jacob.

Henry Morgan

AGM WEEKEND EASTWATER TRIP

Zac Woodford provides written evidence that three hardy souls were still in a fit state to go caving on the AGM/Dinner weekend.

The following day after the AGM after party there were only three people who were able to and wanted to go caving: me, Ash and Sioned. At about 1 pm we got together and set off for Eastwater Cavern, a new cave for me. When we arrived, we immediately noticed something was wrong: there was too much water entering the cave - about a three-inch-thick waterfall - and we had to climb through it (and Ash had said the entrance was only drippy).

Down through the boulder choke we went, with a waterfall raining down on us all the way. It was a relief when we finally reached the squeezy rift, but it was a struggle to stop slipping down into it while we passed through the barely-wide-enough-to-fit-a-person top section. We then had more crawls and climbs before we reached Dolphin Pot and descended with the help of a handline to the bottom.

We then had more crawls before I had the fun of my very first ladder! This was followed by a stroll down the gorge and a short crawl before we arrived at Bold Step, a tricky leap over a chasm that Ash eagerly jumped over while Sioned and I took a more cautious ‘stepping’ approach. We then slid down a nice slippery rift to a spot near a dig where we turned around and hauled ourselves back out up supposedly thirteen pots (but there were only about five proper ones). Then it was back over bold step (from which point I was in the lead) up the gorge, up the ladder, up the hand line, back across the rift before the agonising crawl through the drenched boulder chamber and a final crawl through a freezing waterfall before we were out.

It was a very good trip even if we were sceptical at the start, a wonderful adventure and very nice Mendip cave (if a little wet at the time).

Zac Woodford

CAVING AND CUSTARD - YORKSHIRE 2020

Many thanks to Chris Howes for taking time out of a very hectic schedule to let us have one of his amazing photos to illustrate this article! Photo copyright Chris Howes and used with his kind permission! Please don't re-use anywhere without his express consent!

On a recent trip to the Yorkshire Dales, the main chamber in Gaping Gill was apparently not the most awesome thing to be encountered. That accolade goes to something yellow and wobbly, as Zac and Merryn recount...

Zac:
This trip to Yorkshire on the last weekend of February was supposed to be a weekend away to practice SRT and meet people from SUSS (Merryn’s previous club) in the scenic setting of the Yorkshire dales but it had a bit of a rocky start and wound up being so much more...

The trip started with a frantic conversation on messenger on the Friday afternoon where we tried to ascertain whether the trip would still go ahead owing to several people pulling out at the last minute. Spoiler: it did. So, at about seven o’clock that evening Merryn, Janine and I bundled into Ash’s car and embarked on the five-hour drive to Yorkshire. It was about as eventful as a drive to Yorkshire sounds but with the added highlight of Janine introducing us to carpool karaoke but with sea shanties.

Upon arriving at the Bradford Potholing Club cottage, we found the Sheffield club already quite at home. Merryn and Janine caught up with friends while Ash and I quickly integrated. Sheffield had brought a “goody bag” from the bins behind Booths (northern Waitrose) and after arriving and settling in I began the work of picking out the edible food from the ‘oh my word don’t go near it with a ten-foot pole’ stuff. However, we did salvage enough bagels to last a lifetime. After much partying, drinking and attempting to get five people to play the same guitar at once (we did), we called it a night.

The next morning, I went down to breakfast to find a Deepwater Horizon-esque oil spill on the kitchen floor, however this turned out to make a great dance floor for the ensuing breakfast garage rave.

After much Faff about “who, where and when”, Ash, Janine, Merryn and I with Olly, Ben and John from SUSS and set about heading to Gaping Gill. When Ash, Janine and I arrived John and Ben were heading back, having forgotten their rope, but by the time we were ready they had returned, and we all set off on the hour hike up Ingleborough. Finally, we reached Bar and Flood, Ash Janine and I went in through the Flood entrance while Merryn, Ben, Olly and John went in through Bar entrance. Flood had a wonderful five pitches, plenty of crawls, squeezes and more, plus, I had my first experience with SRT inside a cave and therefore was a little slow, which is why by the time we reached the Gaping Gill cavern the others had already had quite an adventure…

Jump to Merryn:
Cavers: Olly Hall (OH), Ben Alston (BA) and John Harlow (JH)

Walking up to Gaping Gill had me full to the brim with caving SRT hype, despite the typically momentous faff and 1hr uphill walk. The sun was shining gloriously and JH (gaining a reputation as the most hyped caver ever) was bringing us his excitement for some cave photography. I was even contemplating a paddle in Clapham river to look for crayfish on our return. JH chose Bar Pot main pitch as our photoshoot location, and OH, BA and I took turns posing in dramatic sprawls down the pitch, whilst JH directed the lights with walkie talkies.

Upon reaching the bottom, we were very excited to follow the breeze to GG (not a person), so excited that we speed crawled/ran down the passages missing the chamber entrance multiple times. Reaching GG waterfall and feeling the cool spray was breath-taking, inspiring an artistic rock stacking session whilst we waited for the others. We passed them in a crawl on our way out, where we decided the breeze created the perfect atmosphere for a wonderful nap (much to OH’s dismay).

Leaving through Flood Entrance was pretty fun, ‘til we reached the surface. JH, OH and I left to find a white-out blizzard scene but were too cold to bother untying the bothy out of the bag or to return to the cave. Instead we set up a rotating penguin-like vibrating huddle. This confused BA greatly when he surfaced and was followed by a very snowy speed walk to the car. Sadly, no time for a paddle, but a great trip that satisfied my SRT cravings.

Back to Zac:
On the way out we went via Bar Pot entrance (the top is damn tight) and arrived on the surface one by one so that Janine and I had to huddle in the bothy while we waited for Ash. We then had the agonising quick march down Ingleborough in the dark with snow like drawing pins in our faces while wearing wet caving gear. It was so cold that my hands relapsed from feeling freezing to pleasantly warm. Lest to say we were more than relieved to finally reach the car at which point we took off our wet stuff outside, loaded it in the boot and put our dry stuff on inside the car! Yay faff!

We got back to the hut at which point I had the best hot shower in my life before a wonderful SUSS stew for dinner. However, the tale that follows about dessert, many of our audience may not be ready for it, it is possibly one of the greatest and mind-blowing human discoveries ever. Dessert had meant to be a jam roll with custard but when making the custard Janine and Ben added too little water leading to us discovering what we believed to be a new state of matter. It was at this point we began experimenting with people trying to cast it in the shape of a mug to see if it retained its shape, Janine then suggested using oil to stop it sticking to the mug which gave me the inspiration to… (well I think the alcohol also helped) fry it…

So we did and, in doing so, made one of the greatest discoveries in human history: fried custard. It was gloriously just about edible, the group consensus being it was a little like a budget panna cotta. Merryn then tried the same with angel delight but if the custard was bad the angel delight was worse, looking like a burnt slightly off-colour spam.

The next day, after breakfast, the UBSS contingent of four got together and set out for Sell Gill which was a much shorter trip. Merryn did all the rigging with Ash checking it over. At the bottom of the last pitch we found a long-lost soul doomed to roam the cavern forever - or should I say, sole, and we packed it away and disposed of it responsibly. After a clamber through a very large chamber and a couple of crawls through glacial water we reached the very bottom and then turned around and came back the same way (my poor hands!). We then clambered out of the cave and made our way back to the Bradford for a session of packing, rope cleaning and faff.

Eventually we had everything packed and set off on the long road back to Bristol singing shanties all the way and reminiscing about an incredible weekend!

Zac Woodford and Merryn Matthews

DIG, DIG, DIGGING

Even after the exertions of the Yorkshire weekend and the annual dinner, caving hands have not been idle, and despite Dickon fleeing to Wales, progress is being made in Burrington.

The Pierre’s dig has been active as ever, fronted by our very own Simon Hadfield. A routine of Monday evening dig sessions engendered with UBSS cavers frequenting the site. The aim is to break through to a part with very pretty things that can currently only be reached by doing a tricky cave dive. On the second Monday of March, I tagged along to have a nosey with Merryn and Henry.

This was Merryn’s first time in Pierre’s. She says the slot was fun and it was as tight as everyone had moaned about. A short crawl with a right angle is the final obstacle before the dig – this is much harder for long specimens, such as Henry.

Henry took to the front of the dig to do the actual digging but kept having to crawl through a muddy puddle to fix various issues. On his way out, a large rock tried to kill him. Poor Henry. I, on the opposite end of the dig, had the time of my life. I passed the majority of the time listening to the others working hard while enjoying my first encounter with squishy clay mud and occasionally pulling the rope with the bucket up to empty it at the top.

Simon was very helpful when Merryn and I tackled the final steep climb: on the way back down Simon practically carried me off of the climb, my excuse being that my legs are too short to do what he did. At one point, I asked Merryn for a leg up and unknowingly stood on her head. It’s OK, she survived – it probably knocked her brain back in place, too.

Conclusion: it was great fun; digging is way easier than Merryn and I expected, and everyone should come!

Mia Jacobs

COME ON ELAINE!

Older members will no doubt be delighted to know that the long-standing traditions of singing and song-writing are very much alive and well, as the younger generation can testify. Here's one of their recent songs, to be sung to the tune of Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners.

Come on Elaine!
Come on Elaine!

Poor old Dickon's gone
He tried his best to get it done
But he had to run to Cardiff
All the diggers cried, they filled the sump with tears

You'll dig (keep digging)
We'll dig (keep digging)
Now we must dig more than ever
Crow bar, crow bar, crow bar, crow bar, spade
The mud can't last forever

Come Elaine, oh let's go to Pierre's
At this moment, we must go digging
Take off that dress, oversuits are the best
Cause it's dirty
Ah, come on, Elaine

Come on Elaine

We'll celebrate with beer
On the other side of that scrotty sump
And we won't need to go diving
So you'll dig (keep digging)
We'll dig (keep digging)
Oh the mud can't last forever
(Remember)
Crow bar, crow bar, crow bar, crowbar, spade
And we'll fly through the flyover

Come on Elaine, oh let's go to Pierre's
Ah, come on let's round up the team
That sticky brown mess, oh there's no time to rest
Ah, come on let's, ah, come on, Elaine
That sticky brown mess, oh there's no time to rest
Ah come on let's, ah, come on, Elaine, please

Come on, Elaine, to Pierre's Pot
Come on, Elaine, to Pierre's Pot
Now it's going
The passage is growing
Oh, Elaine

Said, come on, Elaine
The bypass is real and I know
It will go
Now we must dig more than ever
Before we can get changed
I say, crow bar, crow bar, crow bar, crow bar, spade

Come on Elaine, oh let's go to Pierre's
At this moment, we must go digging
Take off that dress, oversuits are the best
Cause it's dirty
Ah, come on, Elaine

Come on Elaine, oh let's go to Pierre's
At this moment, we must go digging
Take off that dress, oversuits are the best
Cause it's dirty
Ah, come on, Elaine

With apologies to Dexys Midnight Runners

SPIDER HOLE - TRIP REPORT

Elaine and Haydon getting ready for some SRT.

As you’ll all be aware by now, any grand plans any of us had for socially responsible caving have sadly been mothballed by the Government’s coronavirus mitigation measures. Before the lockdown came into force, Elaine and Haydon (a household isolation team!) set off to Cheddar Gorge in search of some eight-legged friends...

Having located the correct layby at the second pass, Haydon mounted a search for the entrance while I contemplated the rigging guide. (Yes, that’s not a typo – SRT on Mendip!) He soon returned to report that he had found not only the entrance, but “some kind of lamb or sheep”. I suggested a “leap”, but was advised it was definitely more of a “leapt”.

A quick change in the drizzle, past the leapt (actually one of those wild goats you often spot roaming the Gorge, and a highly fragrant one at that) and soon we were rigging a handline down the first climb, admiring the very large creatures that lend the cave its name from as far away as possible (which is not particularly far in the confines of the cave’s entrance).

The climb led into a short crawl, which spat us out into the spacious Hazelnut Rift. A climb down loose boulders and stemples (negating the requirement for one of the ropes we’d brought) was followed by a traverse on some narrow ledges out to the next pitch head. This was a fun narrow descent that soon belled out to the even more impressive dimensions of the rift chamber. Here, we admired the gravelmite formations and impressive engineering at the foot of the pitch before heading ever downwards to explore the dig: a series of shafts heading seemingly towards the centre of the earth! All in all, it was a lovely little Mendip surprise.

Afterwards, for once we would have had plenty of time to hit the pub, but as we were already being advised to limit social interaction as much as possible, we headed straight home and had our post-cave beer there instead. For now, we’re confined to the rather less muddy and more spacious sports of jogging followed by armchair caving (indoors so doesn’t count towards your one form of exercise per day) – but the caves will still be there afterwards, and now’s the perfect time to plan out that hit list for when the restrictions are finally lifted.

Elaine Oliver

YAY, CLOTHING!

Yep, our attempts at politely twisting Ash's arm to put in another clothing order have been successful, so if you missed out last time or just want to add to your already extensive wardrobe, now's your chance. Over to Ash...

Back by popular demand, we will be running another clothing order for t-shirts and hoodies with the UBSS 100 Centenary design on! The design is available in black or white print on any colour garment.

Based on requests from last time if you want me to post your item to you I will do so for an extra £3.10. Just let me know - this offer also applies to anyone who hasn't yet got their items from last time. However I'm more than happy holding onto stuff until it's convenient to meet at the pub, etc.

Drop me an email/message with anything you want and I'll add you to the order form. If you find something else which looks interesting on shirttales' site then I can enquire for suitability/pricing. The table shows an idea of prices (which I'd like you to pay), but there is a chance they may go up a tiny bit as we will be ordering a smaller batch than before. (This is unlikely and I'll let you know before the final order is sent if you want a full refund instead.) Online transfer/payment is preferred, however you may pay by cash/cheque at the pub.

The click-through links show which colours and sizes are available:

T-shirt GD002   £10.02
Hoodie GD057    £20.14
Rugby shirt AQ040 £24.18
Women's T-shirt GD009 £10.02
Women's T-shirt GD015    £10.68
Zipped Hoodie GD058     £22.68
Onesie CC001 £30
Embroidered Patch (Crest Logo) A separate badge/patch ideal for a camp blanket, etc. £7.20

If you would like to place an order, please contact me asap. In view of the current lockdown, we can't yet forecast when the orders can be placed or collected, but don't use that as an excuse to dither!

100 MEMORIES - HOW GALYA AND CHARLIE MET

Left, Charlie on the train. Right. Chariie in Green Snakes Cave

Caving has been responsible for bringing a lot of couples together, and as part of our 100 memories project, Galya tells the story of her first meeting with Charlie.

In those far ago years I was a fanatical caver.

That spring expedition was going to be special: a caver from the UK was to join us. Our leader Vladimir Maltsev invited Charlie when they’d met in Hungary during the Speleo congress.

It’s not that I consciously put my hopes on this new acquaintance, but I was divorced, single, and lived with my son for 17 years, wanting to be married. I’d later found out that Charlie’s sister, having found out that he was going on this trip, said that he should bring back a wife from Russia for himself! So, perhaps, the same thoughts roamed in his head as well.

We left Moscow for almost a month: 3.5 days in the train there, 3.5 days back, 15 days underground.

For some reason, I was tasked with organising all the material support for that expedition. A huge mountain of baggage occupied my room almost entirely, and I had all the train tickets. The boys sent to help me were somewhat slow and could not find a car. I myself had to stop an open truck, persuade the driver to collect the bags from my place and drive us to the station. When we arrived, we had 5 minutes before the train’s departure. As the bags flew into the train carriage vestibule one by one, Maltsev said in his usual ironic, calm manner, "I was going to order everyone out of the carnage already".

At last, he led me, still angry and stressed, to a bearded man standing alone, and introduced us very formally, "Please meet Mr Charles Self". I automatically got out, “Nice to meet you”, from my very little English and thought, what a small and fragile Englishman! How would he work with us? I don’t know if anyone has ever noticed that Charlie can seem much smaller when under stress.

But, the joy of holiday, anticipation of the long journey, a month in the company of friends, quickly destroyed the awkwardness of the first minutes. Charlie relaxed, and looking at him I realized: what a handsome man I had met! The Roman profile, happy blue eyes, a blond head in combination with a ginger beard (sign of noble origins), strong figure, long legs. I was madly in love with him. I called it ‘love from the 2nd glance’.

Charlie conversed mainly with Maltsev, the only one with decent English, but he tried to chat with us all. He had a pack of cigarettes (he carried cigarettes to help start conversations), and I found a ready phrase in my small English, “Could you give me one cigarette, please?” After that, a sizeable part of those 3.5 days were spent stood in the carriage’s vestibule smoking as we tried to talk. When he spoke slowly, I could understand. Charlie said that he had his own business (oh!), his own house (ooh!!) and his favourite little green car (oooh!!!). I of course tried to find out if he had a family and realized, to my greatest pleasure, that there was no wife and no children.

Everything at that time was like a fairy tale, an impossible and unexpected gift.

Galya Self

PHOTO CORNER

Many thanks to Geoff Fuller for sending in various old caving photos for us to feature. next up, one dear to UBSS hearts.

New cavers who've had the joy of one of Mendip's now-classic through trips from Rod's Pot to Bath Swallet might have wondered how the latter came to earn its name, well, wonder no more. It's called Bath Swallet after the old bath, the site of many an episode of post caving cleanliness.

This picture, one from the '50s, shows Professor EK Tratman, Trat, as he was known to members of the society, washing in what we can only assume was slightly chilly water!

MUSEUM GUEST BLOG - WORK ON BACKWELL CAVE

Material from Backwell cave.

One of the many researchers to take advantage of our museum collection is Adele Brickling, the winner of our student poster competition at the centenary symposium. Adele tells us about her ongoing research and how Backwell Cave fits into a wider picture.

Hello! My name is Adele, I’m a PhD student at Cardiff University researching Iron Age mortuary practice in southwest Britain. As part of my research, I am looking at the human remains excavated from Backwell Cave to help solve the puzzle of who these people were and how they ended up in the cave.

Research background
Backwell Cave makes a fascinating case study site because of the concentration of human bone within a small area as well as the confusion over the type of burial. The bones were not laid out in neat anatomically correct positions, rather they appeared to be disarticulated and scattered. Tratman (1937) suggested that these were either redeposited after being unearthed from disturbed burials elsewhere, or inhumed individuals that had parts removed by scavenging animals.

The excavation records do not provide context or stratigraphic detail for the human bone, so the information we can gain that way is limited. However, we can use scientific methods to determine how these individuals were laid to rest in the cave using histological light microscopy, what they ate using stable isotope analysis, and when they died using radiocarbon dating.

Materials and Methods
I have sampled five right adult humeri (upper arm bones) from the assemblage thanks to the University of Bristol Spealeological Society Museum. The bones are very fragmented and considering the comingled nature of the deposit, I wanted to be sure that each sample represented a discrete individual, so I wouldn’t duplicate data from the analyses and therefore skew the results. The analyses I plan to use are:

Histological light microscopy of bone diagenesis. To briefly summarise, after death, evidence suggests that putrefactive gut bacteria enter the bone through small pores called Haversian canals. The bacteria begin to eat away at the collagen that makes up the bone microstructure. By cutting a very thin section off of a piece of cortical bone, the degree of destruction can be viewed under the microscope. The longer an individual is left whole after death, the more destroyed the microstructure will be. If the funerary treatment facilitated rapid decomposition - for example, excarnation, or being left open to the elements to be rapidly defleshed - then the microstructure will have minimal bacterial damage. If the samples from Backwell Cave show good microstructure preservation, we can suggest that these bones were brought to the cave after undergoing a funerary process that caused rapid removal of flesh or body parts. If not, we can suggest that these individuals were buried whole. Additionally, certain soil environments can cause bioerosion and fungal attack which can also be seen during this analysis.

(Left) A micrograph of perfect osteon preservation from a fresh cadaver. (Right) a micrograph of very poorly preserved microstructure typical of archaeological inhumations. Source: Booth and Madgwick 2016

Stable isotope analysis. This will tell us what the individuals ate. This dietary data can be compared to other sampled individuals from the same time period. This will give us a better idea of what life was like for the people buried at Backwell.

Radiocarbon dating. Tratman (1937) suggested that these individuals were of Iron Age date based on some metalwork found among the burials. A radiocarbon date taken from a vertebrae yielded a Neolithic date. However, the assemblage was mixed, and the available reports do not give us stratigraphic/contextual information of the human remains. More radiocarbon dates will improve our understanding of burial chronology.

Adele working in Backwell Cave material.

These analyses will give us a more comprehensive understanding of the use of the cave as a place of burial. Comparing this data with other samples from sites across the southwest will give us a better understanding of where Backwell Cave fits within Iron Age burial practice. These bones have such an incredible story to tell, and I’m so grateful to the University of Bristol Spealeological Society Museum for giving me access to the collections. Watch this space as their story unfolds!

Adele Brickling

MUSEUM NEWS - WHAT'S NEXT FOR PICKEN'S HOLE?

Those of you who read to the end of the last issue will remember Fiona Holloran's guest blog on work on Unit 3 of Picken's Hole using the ZooMs technique. Once the current travel restrictions have lifted, Fiona, from the University College London's Institute of Archaeology, will be working on the collection again. She takes up the tale again...

Picken’s Hole was excavated in the 1960’s by E.K Tratman, then president of the University of Bristol Spelaeological Society (UBSS). For many reasons, a full report of this excavation and collection was delayed. Then in 2018, several reports regarding the archaeology and palaeontology of Picken’s Hole were published in the UBSS Proceedings (2018, 27[3]).

Cave site stratigraphy is typically problematic, however the extensive archive-work subsequently conducted for this site by dedicated researchers warrants some confidence in the provenance of lithics and skeletal remains (Scott 2018; Wragg Sykes 2018, both UBSS proceedings, 27[3]). Confidence of provenance and presence of late middle Palaeolithic stone tools, including debitage, lends Picken’s Hole to investigating the local environmental context of late Neanderthal presence in the region.

A portion of unidentifiable bone fragments in the process of being recorded. The length, width, cortical thickness, weight, and taphonomic features of each fragment were recorded.

The current study aims to combine the published zooarchaeological report (by Scott 2018), with new taphonomic analyses of unidentifiable bone fragments, and biomolecular analyses to build on our understanding of local species proportions, habitat availability, and the structure of the food-web in the context of human presence in the region. The reconstruction of these environmental and ecological contexts will further the understanding of late Neanderthal ecological plasticity and interactions with their environment in southwest Britain.

The taphonomic analysis and sampling of the unidentifiable bone fragments is complete. These samples are now in line for collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (also known as ZooMS [zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry]) analysis. Picken’s Hole is one of the first collections to be analysed through the UCL Institute of Archaeology’s brand-new ZooMS lab. Protocols have been standardised and are now under test and review before processing these rare bone samples. The ZooMS results will vastly increase the number of identified specimens (NISP) count and combat inherent bias of species proportions based on morphologically identifiable skeletal remains. The creation of a fragmentation index will facilitate comparison of ZooMS-based species proportions with the existing zooarchaeological report. Species proportions will be compared between methods to build a framework of expected habitat availability.

The next stage for this study at Picken’s Hole is to conduct stable isotope analysis. Stable isotope analysis will be used to reconstruct the local environmental conditions and the structure of the local food-web. To do this, 5-10 specimens will be chosen for each of the following species: bison (Bos priscus), horse (Equus ferus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), wolf (Canis lupus), and lion (Panthera leo). Both bone collagen and tooth enamel will be targeted. The stable isotope results will complement the species proportions data and contribute significant information regarding environmental conditions and ecological interactions. The aim is to reconstruct the local ecosystem that late Neanderthals were operating within to further understand their ecological requirements and potential role in that ecosystem.

Fiona Holloran
[email protected]

LOOK WHO READ TO THE END...

Last month's competition resulted in triumph for Chris Howes, who pipped David Richards to the post by an entire minute! Charlie Harding claimed third place.

And here are the responses, in order...

- I’m sure I wasn’t the first! (Chris Howes)
- Do you still need from booking for 14th. I forgot to do this. Stu implied that stairs are fixed. Does this mean you are OK now? (David Richards. It was probably just a convenient click through for another email, but he's certainly another fast reader!)
- It was me! (Charlie Harding) (Sadly for him, no it wasn't!)
- It's true! I don't have Mondays off work for nothing! (Si Hadfield)
- I got to the end! The best part was the idea of Mia still surrounded by pink paint months after CHECC. (Kat Osie-Mensah)
- Just saw that the clickthrough didn't work on my email - I got a "return to sender", so I'm sending again! I'll be too late for the "read to end" by now but there's always the photo attempt! :) (Elaine) (She never did have a stab at the photo comp, so that still remains open!)
- I did, I did! And I swear on the blessed FT Bear, who has been my companion for nearly 40 years! (Sharon Wheeler)
- Yay caving… well, not that I get chance to cave much, but nice to read about it… (Andy Farrant)

I think we're going to have to run a league table for the reading contest in future, but don't think that you're banned from entering if you've won before! All entries welcome!

THE END

So, here we go again, who'd like to favour us with a quote this time?