31 October 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.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



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

Are There Stone Age Megastructures on the Baltic Sea Floor?

11 June 2025

11 June 2025

The western Baltic Sea may conceal far more prehistoric cultural heritage than previously believed — including monumental underwater structures created...

A rare Pictish stone was found near the potential site of the famous Scottish battle that led to the creation of Scotland

7 March 2022

7 March 2022

A team of archaeologists has discovered a Pictish symbol stone close to the site of what is thought to have...

The Kyrgyz epic ‘Manas’ manuscripts were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World

10 June 2023

10 June 2023

Manuscripts of the Kyrgyz epic “Manas” by narrator Sagymbay Orozbakov have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World...

Glazed Bricks with Bull and Dragon Motifs Discovered at Persepolis

17 December 2021

17 December 2021

A team of Iranian and Italian archaeologists recently unearthed some glazed bricks bearing bull and dragon motifs in the ancient...

Detector finds rare Merovingian gold ring refers to a previously unknown principality

22 February 2024

22 February 2024

A metal detectorist has unearthed a very rare, 1,500-year-old Merovingian gold ring made of 22-carat gold at Emmerlev in Southwest...

Archaeologists Unearth Carolingian Silver Treasure Hoard

6 May 2021

6 May 2021

A silver treasure hoard from the 9th century AD has been discovered in Poland‘s Osa and Drwęca basin. The hoard...

19 funerary tombs from Roman times were discovered in Tartus, Syria

27 May 2022

27 May 2022

During search and excavation operations in the archaeological area of Amrit in Tartus, Syria, a joint excavation team from the...

Medieval ‘Testicle Dagger’ Unearthed at Swedish Fortress

19 May 2025

19 May 2025

Archaeologists in Gothenburg, southwestern Sweden, have made a rather striking discovery at the site of the ancient Gullberg Fortress: a...

Remains of a 5-year-old girl found under Real Alcázar in Spain

9 May 2021

9 May 2021

The body of a five-year-old fair-haired girl who lived in the late Middle Ages and was most likely of noble...

Archaeologists Discover 2,000-Year-Old Jug in Tajikistan Bearing Woman’s Name

4 July 2025

4 July 2025

In a discovery of rare historical and cultural significance, archaeologists in southern Tajikistan have uncovered a 2,000-year-old clay jug bearing...

Earliest evidence for intestinal parasites in the UK came from Stonehenge

20 May 2022

20 May 2022

Researchers think they have discovered the earliest evidence for intestinal parasites in the UK. Ancient poop found at the site...

A Dancing Muses statue 2175 years old was found in the ancient city of Stratonikeia, known as the city of eternal loves

7 December 2023

7 December 2023

The latest discovery in the ongoing excavations in the Ancient City of Stratonikeia, known as the city of eternal loves...

The Largest Ancient Floor Mosaic in Cappadocia and Central Anatolia Region Uncovered -600 square meters-

12 November 2023

12 November 2023

The structure with the largest floor mosaic in Cappadocia and Central Anatolia Region was unearthed during the excavations carried out...

An Ancient Large Clay Vessel “Hum” 1.75 Meters High Unearthed in Kyrgyzstan

9 March 2024

9 March 2024

During recent archaeological excavations in the town of Uzgen in the Osh province of Kyrgyzstan, a 1.75-meter-high clay vessel known...

8000-year-old unique “fish-figure” small home tool found in Turkey

20 October 2021

20 October 2021

During this year’s excavations in the Yeşilova and Yassıtepe mounds in İzmir, a unique “fish-figure” small home tool was found....