8 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The earliest human remains 11,000-year-old discovered in northern Britain

An international team of archaeologists at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has discovered 11,000-year-old human remains in the Heaning Wood Bone cave in Cumbria, England. The discovery is the oldest human remains ever found in northern Britain.

The UCLan team has been able to prove at least eight different people were buried in the cave. Despite the fragmented condition of the human remains, the accompanying artifacts make it likely that these were all deliberate burials.

E.G. Holland excavated the Heaning Wood Bone Cave for the first time in 1958, yielding the skeletal remains of three adults and a juvenile dated to the Early Bronze Age by radiocarbon dating.

Archaeologists returned to the cave in 2016, revealing animal bones such as Bos, Sus, and Canis, stone tools, prehistoric pottery, and beads made from shells.

Photo: Heaning Wood Bone Cave

A recent excavation by Martin Stables uncovered a periwinkle shell bead and human remains dating back 11,000 years to the Early Mesolithic, when Homo sapiens, or modern humans, were the only hominid species still surviving in the British Isles. The team identified 8 individuals buried in the cave, 7 of which have been dated by researchers from the University of Nevada and Pennsylvania State University using radiocarbon dating.

The results show the cave was used for burials at three different periods in the prehistoric past: around 4,000-years-ago in the Early Bronze Age; approximately 5,500-years-ago in the Early Neolithic; and around 11,000-years-ago during the very early part of the Mesolithic period.

They discovered a date on one of the shell beads showed it was around 11,000-years-old and was likely to have used during a burial.

The shell bead discovered and radiocarbon dated to 11,000-years-old. Photo: Cumbriacrack

Martin said: “I never expected anything like the Early Mesolithic connection in my wildest dreams. After six years digging it’s all ended up in a place I never expected it to get to. I can’t wait to hear all the final results, it’s staggering so far, difficult to imagine what it would have been like around here over 11,000-years-ago.”

Earlier human remains are known from southern England and from Wales, but the destructive effect of past glaciations means that such finds are rare in northern Britain. Before this discovery, the ‘earliest northerner’ was a 10,000-year-old burial from the nearby Kent’s Bank Cavern discovered in 2013.

UCLan’s Dr. Rick Peterson added: “Cave burials like this are well known from some periods of British prehistory and the Heaning Wood burials are an important addition to our knowledge of funeral practices. Together with the slightly later dates from Kent’s Bank Cavern, it shows, as people re-occupied the land, how important the whole of Britain was to this process.”

The site is still being researched, and a detailed study of what happened to each individual after they were placed in the cave is still being conducted.

UCLan

Related Articles

Newly discovered inscribed brick may reveal Elamite water supply system in Western Iran

15 January 2024

15 January 2024

Archaeologists discovered a brick inscribed with Akkadian script, marking the Elamite water supply system, alongside some intricately patterned bricks in...

Ancient eggshell in the Northern Cape hiding 300,000 years of history

12 July 2021

12 July 2021

Evidence from an ancient eggshell has revealed important new information about the extreme climate change faced by human early ancestors....

First Human Figurine of the Mesolithic Era (Circa 9000 Years Old) Discovered in Azerbaijan’s Damjili Cave

19 April 2025

19 April 2025

A groundbreaking discovery has been made in the Damjili Cave in Azerbaijan’s Gazakh district: the first human figurine from the...

Alexander the Great’s Sacred Purple Tunic Found in a 2,400-year-old Macedonian Tomb?

29 October 2024

29 October 2024

Archaeologists have found a sacred chiton (tunic) in a 2400-year-old royal tomb in the Macedonian city of Vergina in northern...

Evidence found of Goose domestication in Neolithic China 7,000 years ago

8 March 2022

8 March 2022

Geese may have been domesticated in what is now China as early as 7,000 years ago, according to a study...

Rare 2,800-year-old Assyrian Scarab Seal-Amulet Found in Tabor Nature Reserve

12 February 2024

12 February 2024

A hiker in northern Israel found a rare scarab seal-amulet from the First Temple period on the ground in the...

Ancient cooking vessel found in northern Minnesota dates back more than 1,600 years

28 February 2022

28 February 2022

Dating of Ceramic sherds found in 2003 at the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota revealed the vessel...

Archaeologists Unearth 2500-Year-Old Settlement in North Macedonia

10 April 2025

10 April 2025

Recent archaeological excavations at Gradishte, near the village of Crnobuki in North Macedonia, have unveiled a significant ancient settlement that...

Silver coins found near the ruins of the medieval monastery in Holy island

10 November 2021

10 November 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a silver coin on Lindisfarne, known as Holy Island, in the northeast of England. Dig Ventures is...

Multiple Burials found at Çatalhöyük

17 September 2021

17 September 2021

Multiple burials were unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the house on the eastern mound of the Neolithic settlement Çatalhöyük....

The Mystery of the Hekatompedon: An Ancient Shepherd’s Graffiti Sheds New Light on the Mystery of the Acropolis’ Lost Temple

13 June 2024

13 June 2024

The Acropolis of Athens and its monuments, the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed to the world by ancient Greece,...

Archaeologists discover ‘exceptional’ ancient Roman sanctuary in near intact condition in Netherlands

23 June 2022

23 June 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed a relatively intact 1st-century Roman sanctuary in the town of Herwen-Hemeling in the province of Gelderland in...

Archaeologists in Egypt unearth Roman-era cabin and royal sphinx statue

6 March 2023

6 March 2023

An Egyptian archaeological mission discovered a sphinx statue inside a Roman-era limestone cabin excavated in Egypt’s south. The artifacts were...

Ancient Hippodrome, Subject of Ben-Hur Movie, Will Become “Arkeo Sports Park”

8 August 2021

8 August 2021

Ben-Hur, a wealthy prince living in Jerusalem, is a historical figure who struggled for the freedom of the Jews during...

Recent Excavations in Spain Reveal 7th Century BCE Religious Structure, Showcasing Eastern Influences within Tartessian Culture

18 February 2025

18 February 2025

A research team led by the National University of Distance Education (UNED) has made an important archaeological discovery at the...