In excess of 80,000 artefacts have been unearthed from Kents Cavern giving the cave its incredible archaeological history. Over the last two centuries several impressive excavations have taken place and many of the artefacts found were sent triumphantly around the world proving the antiquity of both man and Ice Age beasts. Today, the Kents Cavern Foundation is working to locate as many artefacts as possible, from museums all over the world.
The Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter has recently been refurbished and now includes an exhibition of prehistoric stone technologies with many Kents Cavern artefacts.
Country: England
The British Museum’s collection of Kents Cavern material goes back to 1850 when Augustus Franks was appointed to establish a collection of British antiquities at the museum. He collected some of Father John MacEnery’s finds and did not hesitate to add handaxes from Pengelly’s…
Country: England
The Natural History Museum in London has a large collection from Kents Cavern, mainly in storage including rare foetal mammoth teeth. The Kents Cavern jawbone was exhibited there in 2014 for the “Britain: 1 million years of the human story” exhibition.
Country: England
Brixham Museum has many finds from the Brixham caves, excavated by William Pengelly before the Great Excavation of Kents Cavern between 1865-1880.
Country: England
Torquay Museum holds the largest collection of Kents Cavern material in the World with over 15,000 artefacts including the famous Kents Cavern 41,000 year old jawbone, the oldest early modern human fossil in Britain.
Country: England
Key artefacts: hyena and horse remains.
Country: France
Key artefacts: Bones from megaceros, ox teeth, hyaena teeth and bones
Country: America
Key artefacts: unspecified remains of rhinoceros antiquitatis, unspecified remains of hyaena crocuta, unspecified remains of equus caballus
Country: Australia
Key artefact: Hyena remains
Country: England
Key artefacts: Megaceros giganteus lower jaw, crocuta upper jaw, elephant tooth, section of large limb bone from coeldonta antiquitatis
Country: England
Key artefacts: Tooth of elephant
Country: England
Key artefacts: Wild cat mandible, otter mandible, bovid femur, 11 pottery fragments, 1 bone awl, 4 woolly mammoth molar teeth
Country: England
Key artefacts: Crocuta spelaea sesamoid bone, crocuta spelaea coprolite x 8, Many unidentified teeth and bones
Country: England
Key Artefacts: Deer left metacarpal, large bovid tooth, Badger jaw and teeth, lepus europaeus right femur, Crocute spelaean upper left canine. Rangifer tarandus end of right tibia, vulpes femur, panther leo tibia
Country: England
Key Artefacts: 14 milk teeth of cave hyena, cave bear phalanx, atlas vertebra from wolf or hyena
Country: England
Key Artefacts: Jaw of carvnivore
Country: England
Key Artefacts: Rhino remains, horse remains, equus caballus teeth
Country: Ireland
Key artefacts: Many flint flakes and implements of various colours
Country: England
Key artefacts: Ursus spelaeus radius, rangifer tarandus antler, panthera leo spelaean humerus, coelodonta antiquitatis milk tooth, cervus elephas jawbone with teeth.
Country: England
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