Two of Britain's leading archaeologists have been given the go ahead by to carry out the excavations in over 80 years inside Kents Cavern, a Protected National Monument which starts on Sunday 29th March until Sunday 12th April and again from 31st August to 13th Sept. This is an official Darwin200 event and visitors will be able to view the dig in action as part of the normal cave visit from Monday 30th March.
Excavation Directors Dr Mark White, of the University of Durham, and Dr Paul Pettitt, of the University of Sheffield, said:
"We hope that the information recovered from these excavations will contribute to widely-debated issues in human evolution - specifically whether the expansion in numbers of our own species tens of thousands of years ago was connected with the extinction of the Neanderthals. Britain has so far failed to play a role in this fascinating and important debate, and we believe that Kents Cavern is the prime site where answers could be found."
Nick Powe, owner of Kents Cavern commented:
“Kents Cavern was awarded best large visitor attraction in South West England in 2008 but I don’t think many people realise just how important an archaeological site the caves are, not just in Britain but in Europe. As an international prehistoric show cave it is an iconic part of the British heritage circuit, ” continued Nick, “with evidence of human occupation dating back half a million years, it has Protected National Monument status as the oldest recognisable human dwelling in the whole of Britain.”
- Ends
For more information contact:
Nick Powe
Managing Director
nickpowe@kents-cavern.co.uk
Direct Line: 01803 219240
Kents Cavern Prehistoric Cave
Protected National Monument
International Prehistoric Show Cave
Gateway to UNESCO's English Riviera Global Geopark
Best Large Attraction in South West England 2008
www.kents-cavern.co.uk
Kents Cavern Ltd — 89/91 Ilsham Road — Wellswood Village — Torquay — Devon — TQ1 2JF — UK
Tel: 01803 215136 — Int: +44 1803 215136
Company Registered in England No. 657372 VAT Registration No. 141 2435 10
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Nick Powe 01803 215136
