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On the south-east corner of Dartmoor, at Buckfastleigh, in a disused limestone quarry lies one of the historical gems of South Devon.
It’s hard to imagine hyenas, elephants, rhinoceros, lions and hippopotamuses, to name just a few, wandering along the A38 corridor to drink at the River Dart. Yet, within the limestone caves of the quarry is irrefutable evidence that they once did.
The limestone developed about 400 million years ago in a warm tropical sea, south of the equator with coral reefs and active volcanos nearby. Over time eruptions produced volcanic ash that covered the coral causing it to die and so the process of conversion to limestone began. Meanwhile the earth’s tectonic plates with associated land masses moved slowly northwards until the coral reef became part of today’s South Devon.
Buckfastleigh caves were formed in the limestone through solution; rainwater on hitting the ground increases in acidity, this in turn seeps down into small cracks and fissures in the limestone. Very slowly, over thousands of years, this acidity begins to eat into the rock creating tunnels and passages. It was through this process the caves were probably formed no later than 300,000 years ago.
About 100,000 years ago, when the climate was much warmer than today, the roof of one cave (Joint Mitnor) suddenly collapsed leaving an opening on the surface. Inevitably, some animals accidently fell through this hole into the cave below and could not escape. Over a period of many years the cave gradually filled up with a mixture of soil, rocks and bones to create a debris pile called a talus cone. When this eventually reached the roof the cave was resealed leaving a historical time capsule.
The discovery of the caves came in the 19th century when quarrymen, extracting stone for building and making lime in the kilns for fertilizer, broke into small chambers and passages. They were either too busy to notice or understand the significance of any old bones they might have come across. It was not until 1938 that the true value of the cave’s deposits was established, although nearly being dismissed at first.
A few young men were exploring one of the caves in the quarry when they climbed into a chamber through a difficult tight passage; there they found some very old bones. Taking one with them, they sent it to Torquay Natural History Museum to be examined. Amazingly an expert, A.H. Ogilvie, dismissed the bone as that of a common ox. The then curator, Mr Ed Milton, wrote a letter expressing disappointment, concluding that there were no bones of extinct animals in the Buckfastleigh caves.
Undeterred the specimen was sent to the British Museum, Natural History, London, where it was identified as coming from a wild bison which had indeed roamed this country 100,000 years ago and was now long extinct. This information had a major impact on the scientific community and research started in earnest only to be curtailed with the outbreak of the Second World War. The cave later became known as Joint Mitnor after the three men, Joint, Mitchell and Northey who were principle in discovering the cave’s true value.
The 1940s and 50s saw considerable effort to excavate the cave, hundreds of bones were carefully extracted establishing it as the largest deposit of mammal bones from the last interglacial period ever found in a British cave. The considerable amount of mud and rocks taken from the cave during this work was sufficient to build a level causeway to the cave which is still in use today by visitors.
The site had been privately owned with a special access agreement for cave exploration and scientific work. In 1961 the owners suddenly announced they were intending to sell it at auction. The possibility of the site being lost to science provoked a quick reaction and it was hurriedly bought by the Society for Nature Reserves. Having now acquired the land it needed to establish a group or organisation to administer it.
The William Pengelly Cave Studies Trust was formed to undertake this task and convert the old disused barns on the site into a studies centre. Why is it called William Pengelly? In the early 19th century many cave scientists took a very cavalier approach to excavations often removing whatever was found without proper records or cataloguing. William Pengelly (1812 – 1894) was a rare exception. Born in Cornwall he was a self-taught man who would rise to great scientific eminence. Today he is thought by many as the forefather of cave research. Pengelly was meticulous; any object that had been removed was carefully recorded and listed to the extent that it was possible to pin-point its exact location within the cave and at what depth in a deposit. He was renowned for his careful excavations at Brixham Cave followed in 1865 by Kents Cavern where he worked until 1880. He understood that newly discovered caves could reveal information of great value if systematically excavated rather than simply removing any artefacts found.
The Centre at Buckfastleigh demonstrates many fascinating pieces of science, from palaeontology, geology to natural history. It is an important site for the rare greater horseshoe bat along with other bat species. Industrial heritage associated with the quarry and limestone industry is present for visitors to see and understand. The onsite museum houses some of the bones originally excavated from Joint Mitnor cave and the public have the opportunity to handle some of these exhibits designated for that purpose.
The William Pengelly Cave Studies Trust has existed now for nearly 60 years as a fully volunteered charity providing a unique educational resource on Dartmoor’s edge. Volunteers are on hand to guide people around the quarry and into Joint Mitnor Cave explaining the science and history in layman’s terms. To stand inside the cave and see some of the original bones over 100,000 years old still lying in situ amongst to mud and rock is something quite amazing.
During August the centre is usually open to the general public for guided walks on Wednesdays and Thursdays. However due to the current crisis please check our website. www.pengellytrust.org for latest information.
Alan Finch
All photos courtesy of WPCST Archive