Creswell Crags Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Creswell Crags
Caves at Creswell Crags
Location	Creswell, Derbyshire
Geology	Limestone

Creswell Crags is a special place in England, right on the edge of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. It's a deep valley, called a gorge, made of limestone rock. You can find it near the villages of Creswell and Whitwell.

The tall cliffs in this gorge have many caves. These caves were once home to people who lived there a very long time ago. They lived during the last Ice Age, which was about 43,000 to 10,000 years ago. Inside these caves, you can find the most northern cave art in all of Europe!

Scientists have found many layers of sediment (like dirt and rock) in the caves. These layers show how people lived there for thousands of years. It's a unique place because it tells us how ancient people survived at the very edge of where humans lived during the later Pleistocene Ice Age.

The caves hold clues like flint tools from different ancient cultures. People who were nomads (meaning they moved around a lot) used these caves at different times of the year. This happened during the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. We've also found signs of people from the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Roman, and even later times.

Some of the earliest evidence shows Neanderthals lived here about 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. Later, people from the Gravettian culture were here around 32,000 years ago. Then, all the main caves were used by people of the Magdalenian culture about 14,000 years ago. Today, you can visit Creswell Crags. There's a visitor centre with a small museum where you can see some of the amazing things found there.

Creswell Crags is so important that it's been named a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It's also being considered to become a World Heritage Site, which means it would be recognized as a very important place for everyone in the world.

Exploring the Ancient Caves
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Exploring the Ancient Caves

The caves at Creswell Crags are like time capsules, showing us how people lived long ago. Here are some of the most famous ones:

Church Hole Cave is home to Palaeolithic etchings.

Mother Grundy's Parlour

This cave was a popular spot for ancient people. Scientists found many flint tools and broken animal bones here. People lived in Mother Grundy's Parlour until about 16,000 years ago, during the Mesolithic period.

Robin Hood's Cave

In Robin Hood's Cave, an amazing discovery was made: a bone with a horse's head carved into it! The people who lived here were skilled hunters. They hunted large animals like woolly rhinoceros and smaller ones like Arctic hare.

The Pin Hole

Back in the 1920s, a tiny human figure carved into a bone was found in The Pin Hole. It's known as the Pinhole Cave Man. An ivory pin with etched lines was also discovered here. These small carvings show how artistic and clever ancient people were.

Church Hole Cave

Church Hole is very special because it has more than 80 ancient carvings on its walls. These are some of the oldest artworks in Britain! People used this cave on and off for thousands of years, even up to Roman times.