Old Hannah’s Hole is a large fissure cave with a narrow, high entrance, and is also known as Redhurst Cave. It sits at the foot of a ridge of limestone projecting into the Manifold Valley from Wetton Hill. The entrance is imposing, if not on the scale of the nearby Thor’s Cave. It is narrow at about 1.3m wide, but lofty, at about 8m. The cave penetrates the limestone for about 8m before narrowing considerably. A crabwise shuffle and short crawl for some 5m brings one to a circular chamber.
Old Hannah’s Hole photographed by the author, June 3rd 2021.
Whilst the cave is only ca. 150m
from the road it proved hard to find. This was principally because there are no
less than 6 grid references/gps coordinates given for it on the internet. All
are wrong! The correct grid reference is SK 09987 55694 as shown on the map
below:
The initial excavation was carried by Wardle (1899). His account is quite interesting, but takes close reading to determine the stratigraphic position of the finds and therefore correct ages. I reproduce it in full here as it appears nowhere on the internet:
“THE DIGGINGS IN OLD HANNAH’S
CAVE.
I will now briefly describe the
Redhurst Cave or Old Hannah’s Cave. The first part of the cave is about eight yards
in length, and one and a-half yards wide. Then there occurs a very narrow opening, and after
crawling about two yards, the cave opens out a little, giving just room enough
to walk sideways for about four yards; it then terminates in an almost round
space, perhaps 15 feet high, with room for three or four people to stand
upright in it. This was before the excavation began.
The cave appears to be a large
crack or fissure in the rock, with possibly a subsidence on one side. A section
from the top of the floor of the cave gives the following deposits:—
1. Two inches of a rubbly floor.
2. Top layer, at entrance, of
blackish earthy soil.
3. Stiff red soil, at entrance,
containing a few large bones.
4. 12 to 18 inches of red clay,
with small limestone fragments.
5. Limy concrete or Stalagmitic
accretions, but commencing well inside the cave and thickening inwards from one
to seven or eight feet.
6. Red clay..
7. Whitish sandy loam, at
entrance, and clay.
8. Red sand, probably derived
from glacial beds.
9. Sand and clay.
10. Rough red sand, with small
limestone fragments two feet thick.
11. Red sand, two feet thick.
The thickness of the whole series
may be estimated at about from 10 to 12 feet.
A few large bones were found in
stiff red soil at the entrance, and about four yards up the cave, before the
limy concrete commenced, we found broken portions of a funeral urn. Some breakage
occurred in getting the urn out, but it appeared to have been broken before.
This was found at a depth of 18 inches in a small angular limestone gravel. No
bones were found in this gravel, which is of irregular thickness, varying from
one foot to between two and three feet, thinning out as one proceeded up the cave.
Then occurred a mass of white
limy concrete, in which were found several more bones at a distance of four to
seven yards from the entrance of the cave, and a t a depth of 12 to 18 inches.
Three human teeth and about 40 small bones were found at the far end of the
cave, amongst wet dirt about a foot deep. The limy bed appeared to be a deposit
of lime almost in the form of concrete, in which were embedded many bones. This
was the upper bed inside the cave, just below some rubbly stone and a little
soil as a surface. This bed of limy concrete, or stalagmitic matter, with
bones, was at first only 12 inches thick, but further in the cave the thickness
gradually increased to seven or eight feet, but the bones were all nearer the
surface of the concrete, not being deeper anywhere than about 18 inches.
In six inches of soil in the lime
occurred a skull, and also part of a lower jaw, but of another individual, with
the teeth in an excellent state of preservation. This skull and the teeth were found
eight yards up the cave, where the lime is thickest, close to the side and in
the concrete, but loose and not cemented in the concrete like many of the bones
which were very firmly bedded and have the appearance of having been placed in
lime and then water added to them, as you will see by the specimens on the
table.
At a depth of about a foot in the
part which had to be crawled along and also in the open space in the interior,
a number of small bones were found, with charcoal, some of them being charred.
There appeared to have been a fire, with sticks partly burnt. The prevalence of
the charcoal throughout the cave is no doubt due to persons inhabiting the
cave, perhaps, before the burials took place. There was also charcoal amongst
the concrete.
There was brick clay at the
entrance, just inside. The clay was irregularly bedded and alternated with
sand. None of the bones are of extinct forms, and the smaller ones are much
more modern: some may, however, be older than the burial. The bones do not
point to the Pleistocene period, or the time of extinct mammals, yet they are
very interesting as proving the cave to have been a place of burial.
Now with reference to the cave
deposits, you will have observed that I referred to that which contained by far
the largest portion of the bones as lime, limy-deposit, and concrete.
There is one interesting question
for investigation on this, on which I should like to have the opinion of the
members of the Club —“ Is the deposit one of lime, or is it stalagmitic?” There
is abundant evidence of stalactitic as well as of stalagmitic deposition in
this case. The water percolating through the limestone is charged with
carbonate of lime, and this becomes deposited in favourable places, sometimes
to a great thickness. The sides of the cave are in some places covered with it
high above where the bones were found, as the large specimens on the table will
show, some of them in vertical stratification, showing successive layers
corresponding with the varying quantities of carbonate of lime dissolved by
percolating and highly-charged water in its passage down the cave sides and
re-deposited as the water evaporated. But it is difficult to admit that the
lime was not used in sepulture, especially as many fragments of charcoal are
found imbedded in the floor masses. Mr. Newton, to whom
I am about to refer, however,
thinks that these are of stalagmitic origin and that there is no reason for
thinking that lime has been put with the bones; but I say if so, how were the
people buried?
There is no trace of soil or sand
where they were found, except a very little partially round one of the skulls,
only a limy bed of concrete. I am inclined to think both causes operated, but
it is an interesting question on which I will not speak dogmatically.
I have tested both the
stalactitic and stalagmitic matter from the cave sides and floor and the
concrete containing the bones, and find they are perfectly neutral, at any rate
not alkaline, which rather points to Mr. Newton’s theory being correct, because
if so much lime had been brought in to cover the bones, some of it would I think
be alkaline.
I sent all the bones and deposits
now exhibited to Mr. Newton, of the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn Street,
London, the best authority on recent and extinct bones. He has sent the
following report:—
“ The human skull from the cemented concrete is that of an old man, probably Celtic, of Romano-British age or possibly somewhat older, the front teeth and bicuspids having been lost and the alveoli obliterated, while the molar teeth are nearly worn away. This skull is well developed, evidently has a full capacity, the forehead and occiput are bold, the low ridges are somewhat prominent, and the nasal bones have been broken during life; it comes within the dolichocephalic group, its cephalic index being 72.
“ A lower jaw and piece of skull
of another individual has the teeth beautifully preserved. The last molar, or
wisdom tooth, has been fully developed as shown by the alveolus which is now
empty, and the enamel of the two molars, which are present, is
worn through in places. It is
evident therefore that these remains belonged to a person well advanced in
years.”
Numerous other human bones from
the cemented layer indicate at least four adults and one child. All the adult
bones are large, and some especially so, considerably larger than those of an
average man of the present day, the vertebrae and hip-bones
being those of an individual
above the average height. The femora have large heads, strongly developed
muscular attachments, very prominent line aspera, and the condyles oblique.
Tibiae are somewhat flattened, or
platyenemic. With these human bones were some belonging to an ox, sheep, and
fox. The bones from the inner part of the cave beyond the narrow passage, were
mixed with charcoal, and are chiefly of sheep of several sizes, perhaps indicating
different breeds. With the sheep bones were a few belonging to badger, fox,
hare, rabbit, and one of a bird. There were also a few human bones evidently
from the lower strata.
The urn was submitted to Mr. P.
W. Rudler, the curator of Jermyn Street Museum, and President of the
Anthropological Society, who states :— “ Its coarse make and mixture of quartz grains
with the clay, indicate considerable antiquity ; but it has evidently been “
thrown ” on a wheel, which would point to a comparatively late origin. On the whole
he is inclined to think it is the work of some ancient Briton, influenced to
some extent by Roman ideas; that is, it would seem to be what is usually known as
Romano-British. The skeletons would agree with this age, but they might be somewhat
more ancient-”
Some dark coloured bones were
found in stiff red soil below the limy concrete, about six yards up the cave,
and some of them in the same mixture, but before the limy deposit commenced. They
have lost their gelatine, and would, from this circumstance,
lead one to think they were those
of extinct animals of the Pleistocene period, but Mr. Newton says, the absence
of gelatine is not a sure proof of age, because bones, being in a wet place, would
in time have the gelatine dissolved out. These bones are probably older than
the bones of the limy concrete, and consist of one piece of a red deer’s bone,
metatarsal; the foot bone of a horse, and two fragments undeterminable, broken
longitudinally, it may be inferred, for extraction of the marrow.
THE DEPOSITS .
Mr. Clement Reid, of the
Geological Survey, has kindly examined the specimens of cave earth, etc., some
of them by washing through a sieve, but with only negative results. He says:-
No. 2.—Top layer a t entrance,
blackish earthy soil full of roots, etc. No implements, flakes, or bones found
in washing.
No. 4.—From below No. 1 (12 to 18
inches thick). Red clay, with small limestone fragments.
No. 6.— Next below No. 2, below
the lime bed, further inside. Red clay.
No. 7.—Clay below No. 3 at entrance
; bedded whitish sandy loam, full of root fibres. Yielded one small fossil when
washed.
No. 8.— Sand below No. 4 at
entrance. Red sand (? Derived from glacial beds). The washed residue contains a
few small fragments of shells, quite undeterminable, a reed of grass, fragment
of leaf and of moss are evidently recent, not fossil.
A portion of jaw of shrew and
part of a small limb bone have also a very modern look.
No. 9.—From below the sand (No.
5) is like the last (No. 8), but more clayey, contains no fossils.
No. 10.—Rough sand with small
fragments of limestone.
No. 11.— Red sand two feet thick.
Mr. Clement Reid thinks it is in the earth below the deposit which contains the human bones that we should expect to find remains of extinct forms, and it may be, extinct mice and moles.
For the purposes of comparison
and analogy, it will now be interesting to say a few words about other
pre-historic and visible records of this neighbourhood. No doubt you will
remember that the late Mr. Bateman, of Youlgrave, and Mr. Carrington, of
Wetton, were occupied for a good many years in examining the barrows and other
burial places of North Staffordshire. Their results are recorded in Mr.
Bateman’s book published in 1861, entitled “ Ten years’ diggings in Celtic and
Saxon grave-hills.”
As far back as 1845 Mr.
Carrington opened a small barrow in a field in his occupation at Wetton called
Borough Hole. In this barrow he found a skeleton extended at full length,
accompanied by a spear-head and knife of iron. He also found a small brass coin
of the Emperor Gallienus (A.D. 253 to 268) with an antelope on the reverse; and
a curious article made of two semi-circular bars of lead, perforated at both
ends as if intended for a collar, meant to be tied together when round the
neck. Later on he found a very beautiful bronze fibula heart-shaped.
In 1852 he examined this field to
a greater extent, and found it was evidently the site of an ancient British
village or settlement.
The name of Borough Hole remains
to this day, and Mr. Carrington states that the term comes from the word burh,
being a Saxon word for town or village. The sites of many dwellings were
discovered, and the precise site of each house was indicated by pavement.
Ashes, charcoal, broken pottery (Celtic and Romano-British), teeth, bones, and
horns of ox, hare, deer, hog, cow (animals which had been used for food), and
burnt stones were found, but there was no evidence of this station having been
occupied prior to the Roman conquest, neither were there any traces of the Saxon
periods further than that of the name of the fields. The people were pagans,
and disposed of their dead by burning, either to introduce their shades, with
becoming honours, into the presence of their deity, or to propitiate his wrath.
A Romano-British knife of iron,
and prongs of a fork were found at a depth of about one foot from the surface.
There were some broken querns, and a mortar hollowed out at the top for the
reception of grain, also part of a vessel of green glass of Roman
manufacture. The skull of a stag
was found, and a coin of Constantine with the words “Gloria Exercitvs” and two
soldiers holding standards; also pieces of Roman tile, a drinking cup made from
the leg-bone of a large animal. It seems clear from this, that there is
sufficient evidence to assume that there was a joint Romano-British occupation,
or, a t any rate, trading. These Wetton Borough Fields are distant from
Redhurst Gorge not more than one and a-quarter miles.
Barrows were also opened at
Throwley, Warslow, Ecton Hill, Longbow, and Three Lows near Wetton, and
Elkstone, in which similar remains were discovered; in one, were found vessels
of stone and bronze.
Thor’s Cave in its turn came in
for examination. In it some bones of extinct animals were found, with other
remains. I have here a lump of Breccia, which formed part of the floor of
Thor’s Cave, in which may be observed a small Roman tessera.
From all this, it will appear, that this beautiful limestone country was a dwelling-place of our ancient forefathers from very early times. There does not seem to be any trace of these ancient people being employed in mining operations for lead, copper, or other metallic ores, but everything points to their leading a quite pastoral life.
LIST OF BONES, &C. FOUND IN
REDHURST CAVE, JANUARY, 1899.
1.— Human skull of a very old
man, with fairly developed forehead, probably Celtic.
2.— Human skull, probably Celtic.
3.— Fragments of human skulls.
4.—Three teeth and portion of
jaw.
5.—Two „ „
6.— Human tooth.
7.— Human femur.
8.— Human scapula and clavicle.
9.— Human finger and toe bones.
10.— Four human bones, from the
stalagmitic concrete.
11.—Twelve human bones, ,, ,, „
12.— Bones of child, ,, „ „
13.— Four human bones, ,, „ ,,
14.— Human vertebrae, „ ,, „
15.— Human tibiae, „ „ „
16.— Human bones, „ „ „
17.— Human fibulae, „ „ „
18.— Human arm bones, „ „ „
19.— Human foot bones, „ „ „
20.— Fragments of bone, from back
of narrow passage.
21.— Sheep bones, „ „ „
22.— Bones of hare and rabbit, ,, „
23.— Fox bones.
24.— Bones of ox, found with the
human bones.
25.— Bones of sheep, ,, ,, ,,
26.— Wild boar’s tusk.
27.— Bones of rabbits.
28.— Metatarsal bone of red deer,
and six other fragments.
29.— Bone of horse’s foot.
30.— Bones of sheep.
31.— Fragments of bone of a large ox which seem to have been intentionally broken, perhaps by persons living in the cave.
32.— Bones of horse.
33.— Bones of badger.
34.— Various ribs.
35.— Vertebrae, probably sheep.
36.— Bird, from back of narrow
passage.
37.— Urn, Romano-British.
38.— Fragment of pottery, from
cave entrance.
39.— Clay from cave entrance,
probably glacial.
40.— „
„ „ made into bricks.
41.—Masses of stalagmitic
deposition from cave floor.
42.— „ ,, ,, from sides of cave.
43.— Portion of jaw of shrew.
44.— Flint flake, not of chert.
Neolithic or later.
45.— Parts of arm-bone (humerus
of fox).
46.— Dark-coloured bones devoid
of gelatine, from below the lime bed at far end of cave.
Rather than offer my thoughts on the stratigraphy, and the finds and the dates of the deposits, these imply, I will move on to the thoughts of other archaeologists.
Bramwell (1950) considered the
deposits that Wardle (1899) reported:
“In 1899 a Staffordshire,
geologist, Sir Thomas Wardle investigated the floor of Old Hannah’s Cave and in
his notes, he left a fairly complete account of the strata he dug through but
the information on animal and human remains leaves us in doubt about several,
important details. From his account, we learn that this fissure type cave was 8
yards long and 1 ½ yards wide before narrowing to terminate in a lofty round
chamber.
Wardle enumerates eleven deposits of which the main are: black soil at the top, then stiff reddish soil, red clay with small limestone fragments, limey stalagmitic concretions then various deposits containing a high proportion of red sand. The whole series may be estimated to be 10 or 12 feet in depth.
Wardle’s eleven layers were not superimposed, some occurring in one place and not in another; for instance, the earthy deposits at the front of the cave were replaced by limey deposits towards the back of the cave. This is not an unusual feature in a fissure cave where the limey solution from both walls often spreads over the floor permeating the total width of the deposits. This was so in Thor's Fissure Cave, but in the much wider section of Elder Bush Cave the cementing process is found to extend only a foot or so from the walls. In the narrower back portion of E.B. Cave however, the rule still holds good.
The most interesting deposit in Old Hannah’s was the red sand. The red is no doubt due to the oxides of iron, but the sand was probably derived from the shale grit beds lying to the north and east of Wetton village, as at Sheen and Gateham. The lowest deposit in Thor’s was also sand, but complete gritstone pebbles also occurred in an overlying breccia. Recent work at Elder Bush Cave has revealed a breccia containing gritstone pebbles, whilst fine grey sand had been noted for some time from below the main bed of "bone earth”.
The conclusion drawn is that fairly late in the Pleistocene, beds of gritstone, or moraine containing gritstone, were being eroded in the district, some of the material being swept by water into the fissures and caves. The early excavators of Thor’s Cave seriously discussed a "glacial sea" which left sandy beaches and tide marks in the cave.
The upper deposits of Old Hannah's seems to have been divided off from the lower by 12 to 18 inches of red clay with limestone fragments. In Elder Bush Cave limestone fragments assume great importance as the lowest level in this "gravel" marks the last appearance of reindeer. Here also were a few patinated, long flint flakes, also a hearth and other evidence of a wandering hunter of late Palaeolithic date. The fossil form of the arctic lemming also occurred here for the last time. No small rodents seem to have been collected from Old Hannah’s there is merely one modern-looking jaw of a shrew an insectivore.
Two human skulls, human bones, and a wheel-made urn appear to be of Romano-British date, but a flint flake is vaguely described as Neolithic or later. In addition to the usual modern fauna from the upper levels, there were several bones of deer and horse from lower strata, which could possibly belong to the late Pleistocene.”
Next we come to Bramwell’s (1974) comment on Old Hannah’s Cave: “Excavated many years ago by Sir Thomas Wardle of Swainsley Hall but the finds cannot be traced. The account speaks of Roman pottery but some flints of the blade type may have been of Mesolithic or upper Palaeolithic age.”
Branigan and Dearne (1991) commented on the pottery and sole surviving skull. Unfortunately, I have been unable to obtain a copy of this book. However some scant details of their assessment of the cave appear on the Heritage Gateway website (2012): “Branigan and Dearne suggest a Neolithic/Bronze Age date is more likely for the pottery, and state that an inspection of the sole surviving skull casts doubt on a Romano-British date for it (though they do not explain why).”
The cave was also, visited by
RCHME and Trent and Peak Archaeological Trust in 1989 as part of the Manifold
Valley Caves Project. Significant deposits appear to have been left undisturbed
by the early excavations. My visit confirmed that considerable deposits of
compacted red earth still line the cave, but some recent digging has taken
place at the entrance.
Old Hannah’s Hole entrance
showing distinct lip of recent excavation. Photo: the author June 3rd
2021.
View of cave interior, looking
towards the entrance, with signs of recent digging clearly visible as a
vertical lip. Photographed by the author June 3rd 2021.
View of cave at the narrowing, 8m
in. Remaining deposits are visible just below centre. Photograph: the author 3rd
June 2021.
Cave spider attacking and
consuming a smaller invertebrate (woodlouse?), 10m into the cave. Photograph:
the author 3rd June 2021.
Cave spiders abound in the manifold valley and other caves of the region, such as Ravencliffe Cave in Cressbrook Dale and further afield at Anston Wood Cave.
The most common species is Meta menardi, however the specimen
observed differed in size from that species, being smaller, at only 0.75cm in
body length with an estimated leg span of ca. 3.5cm. The dark colouring,
especially on the abdomen with its faint spots suggest Meta bourneti.
Milner (2007) lists Meta menardi, Meta merianae and an unknown cave spider from Elder Bush Cave. Whilst he mentions Meta bourneti this seems to be the first record from the Manifold Valley.
Conclusions
1. Commentary by Bramwell (1950) and Clement Reid (via Wardle 1899) suggest that Pleistocene layers exist below those so far excavated.
2. The scatters of charcoal found
through the depth of the stratigraphy indicate a long occupation, probably
going back to the Pleistocene.
3. The small quantity of narrow
flint blades excavated by Wardle (1899) have been characterised by Bramwell
(1950 and 1974) as late Palaeolithic, that is prior to the last ice age and
thus may range in age from 45-25,000BP.
4. Whilst Bramwell (1950) asserts
that the finds have been lost Branigan and Dearne (1991) apparently examined
one skull and some pottery. Not all finds seem to be lost therefore. The finds
were originally sent to the Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn St, London, the
collections from which were subsumed into the Natural History Museum in 1935.
Some parts of the collection may thus, still be extant.
5. The current, consensus opinion
seems to be that the cave was a burial cave from the Neolithic and may well
have been used as a hunting refuge from the late Palaeolithic and furthermore
contain deposits of Pleistocene age. An exciting prospect indeed.
References
Bramwell, D. (1950) Cave dwellers and dens of late Pleistocene animals. Transactions of the Cave Research Group of Great Britain 1 (4): 47-52.
Bramwell, D. (1974) Archaeology in the Peak District: A Guide to the Region's Prehistory. Moorland Publishing Ashbourne.
Branigan, K. & Dearne, M.J. (1991) A Gazetteer of Romano-British Cave Sites and their Finds. Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield.
Heritage Gateway (2012). Historic England Research Records. Redhurst Cave at: https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=305570&sort=4&search=all&criteria=trent&rational=q&recordsperpage=10&p=81&move=n&nor=817&recfc=0&resourceID=19191 accessed 03.05.2021
Milner, M. (2007) A Cave and Mine Conservation Audit for the Manifold and Hamps Valley Area. Derbyshire Caving Association.
Wardle, T. (1899). Notes on the Explosions and Reports in Redhurst Gorge and the Recent Exploration of Redhurst Cave. The North Staffordshire Field Club transactions Vol 33, Ps 97-116
Further reading
Tommony. M. G. (1994). A Study of
Neolithic and Bronze Age Cave Use in the Manifold Valley, Staffordshire - A
Dissertation (if you can find it – I couldn’t!)
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