A previous post described the Neolithic burials found in Knave Knoll Cave on the upper slopes of Elbolton Hill, near Burnsall in the Yorkshire Dales.
An excavation of this cave in the 1890’s found a group of three skeletons, which rather unusually had been buried in a sitting position. Two of the skeletons were found next to each other against the cave wall, with the third person sat in the area in front of them. The skulls from these burials are in Skipton Museum, and in 2022 they were Radio Carbon dated to 3800BC – the Early Neolithic period.
I enquired at the museum if it was possible to tell if the skulls were male or female, but they had no information about this. There are physical differences in human skulls which can be used to indicate the sex, and looking at the above image this might suggest that there is one male skull (left) and one female (right), with the third skull too damaged to tell (possibly male?). This third skull is smaller that the other two, which might suggest a younger person, and that this was perhaps a family group.
The unusual style of burial may point to these three being the ‘founding’ or first burials in the cave – establishing it as a burial site, where they perhaps sat and ‘watched over’ those who were interred there after them. A shallow recess seems to have been cut into the cave wall where there is a crevice in the rock, from which a small trickle of water flows. The man and woman were placed in this recess in a sitting position, with the third (younger person?) placed in the same sitting position in front of them. It is worth noting that sunlight from the cave entrance shines across the floor to illuminate the area where these 3 were buried. Together they sat in this burial chamber within the hill for over 5000 years, and It is perhaps no coincidence that the shape of Elbolton hill resembles a huge burial mound.
Other human bones were found amongst the rubble and earth of the cave floor, pointing to more burials having taken place in the cave, but these may not have all been complete skeletons, with perhaps only certain bones selected for deposition in the cave. Fragments of Food Vessels and Collared Urns suggests that the cave was also used for cremation burials during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods.
It is unfortunate that such an important archaeological site was subjected to an 19th century excavation, as far more information about the burials and the activity in the cave would have been recorded using modern techniques.
Leaving their mark?
Shining a torch around the walls of the cave reveals the red painted lines marking the original floor level before the excavation. Above this line there are numerous initials carved into the rock, along with areas of seemingly random lines scratched on the cave walls. However, taking photographs of these markings in the darkness of the cave has proved difficult. On a previous visit It was only later when viewing the images on a computer screen at home that the thought arose – could some of these scratched markings date back to the time of the burials? A return visit to the cave was planned, although the thought of once again climbing the steep hill side with a rope ladder and heavy back pack, and then descending into the dark hole, did not inspire a quick return, and so a couple of years passed before heading back to Elbolton.
The main problem taking photographs in the cave is that the 1890’s excavation lowered the floor of the cave by several metres in places, so most of the marks on the cave walls are now well above head height. Without a ladder it is impossible to get close enough to examine them properly, or photograph them with side lighting to enhance the detail. The carved initials are obviously relatively recent, but the scratched lines are more intriguing, and can be seen on a smooth rock surface above the burial recess, and also near the cave entrance. Dark staining on one part of the rock highlights a seemingly random pattern of scratched lines, but closely examining the photographs show that this pattern extends over a large part of that rock surface.
Some of the ‘high up’ initials and marks appear to date from before the 1890’s excavation when the higher floor level allowed access to that part of the cave wall. It is really frustrating being unable to get closer to these markings to examine them properly, but the photographs do suggest that there are many carvings and figures that could be of real historical interest. In other caves in the UK, later initials and graffiti have been placed over the top of much older carvings, and it is possible that this is the case in the Elbolton Cave too. With the cave’s early Neolithic association it must be a good candidate for a more organised survey of the cave walls.
After notes
I am hoping that these images might inspire some archaeologists to take a look at the cave walls at some point, but don’t forget a ladder!
