Gough’s Cave in the Cheddar Gorge in Somerset has evidence of human occupation towards the end of the last Ice Age from about 13,000 to 11,800 years ago. Small projectile points, knives and scrapers have been found similar to those at Creswell Crags in Derbyshire. Breakage on the projectile points and cut-marks on bones suggest that hunting and butchery of horse and red deer was a major activity. We do not know whether the cave was a permanent settlement or a hunting camp.

Other tools found in the cave include points made from mammoth ivory, a bone needle and awls. Antler was also worked into ‘batons’. These tools, found widely across Europe at this time, were made by drilling a large round hole towards the end of the shaft. We do not know what they were used for, although they were clearly used on a soft material such as leather strips – perhaps to make them more supple.

Bones of modern humans have also been found that date to the same period. One curious feature is the identification of cut-marks on these bones, which suggest that the bodies were expertly dismembered after death. There is no certain evidence that the flesh was eaten, so whether this was part of a death ritual or evidence of cannibalism is unclear.