Radiocarbon dating and ZooMS species identification of fragmentary bone at the Late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic site of King Arthur's Cave (UBSS Proceedings v.29(2))

Abstract: King Arthur's Cave (Wye Valley) contains a late Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary sequence, with evidence of Late Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and later occupations. It currently provides the earliest dates for a human presence in the British Isles after the Last Glacial Maximum. Here we revisit the faunal material from the University of Bristol Speleological Society 1920s and 1950s excavations to further clarify the chronology of the stratigraphic sequence on the platform outside the cave mouth. The results of six new ultrafiltered radiocarbon dates confirm that fauna date to before the Last Glacial Maximum and to the Late Glacial, and that some post depositional stratigraphic mixing has occurred. We undertook peptide mass fingerprinting (ZooMS) of fragmentary bones from the platform archaeological levels to provide further insights into the fauna during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The ZooMS species identification indicate the fragmentary bone assemblage mirrors the species present in the morphologically identifiable bone assemblage. Although dominated by red deer, the presence of "mammoth steppe" fauna such as woolly rhino and spotted hyaena, alongside temperate species and domesticated animals (e.g. sheep) further confirm post depositional stratigraphic mixing. Amongst the fragments identified is a human bone which, based on its provenance, could be Late Glacial or early Holocene in age and relate to the Late Upper Palaeolithic or Mesolithic activity at the site. The specimen is currently being radiocarbon dated.