View NE of interconnected cave (L) & rock shelter (R) in limestone cliff face below Gop Hill cairn, Flintshire, Wales, UK: site of Neolithic burials.
Image details
Contributor:
Mick Sharp / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
MAP860File size:
51.5 MB (4.5 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
4961 x 3627 px | 42 x 30.7 cm | 16.5 x 12.1 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
24 September 2002Location:
Gop Cave, Gop Hill, Trelawnyd, Flintshire, Wales, UKMore information:
View NE of interconnected cave (L) & rock shelter (R) in the limestone cliff face below Gop Hill cairn, Flintshire, Wales, UK. At least 14 people were buried at the rear of the rock shelter at different times during the Neolithic period, and the disturbed remains of six more were found in the west cave. An area of intense burning (a ritual hearth) was also found in the rock shelter under some of the burials. Neolithic pottery, flints & a stone axe, and Bronze Age stone tools & a jet belt slider show the caves were being used at the same time as the ritual mound (Gop Cairn) on top of the hill. Mesolithic flint tools & waste flakes, and redeposited animal remains dating back to before the end of the last Great Ice Age (c 70, 000BC) were also discovered during archaeological excavations. The rock shelter was completely hidden until discovered & excavated 1886-7; the inner cave behind the W entrance was discovered & excavated in 1908.