Gough's Cave

Gough's cave
Stalagmites and stalactites in Gough's cave
Location	Cheddar
Depth	90 m (300 ft)
Length	2,135 m (7,005 ft)
Discovery	1892
Geology	Limestone
Access	Show cave open to the public; greater part by diving only
Cave survey	University of Bristol Spelaeological Society
Registry	Mendip Cave Registry

Gough's Cave is located in Cheddar Gorge on the Mendip Hills, in Cheddar, Somerset, England. The cave is 115 m (377 ft) deep and is 3.405 km (2.12 mi) long, and contains a variety of large chambers and rock formations. It contains the Cheddar Yeo, the largest underground river system in Britain.

The initial sections of the cave, previously known as Sand Hole, were accessible prior to the 19th century. Between 1892 and 1898 Richard Cox Gough, who lived in Lion House in Cheddar, found, excavated and opened to the public further areas of the cave, up to Diamond Chamber, which is the end of the show cave today. Electric lighting was installed in the show caves in 1899.

The cave is susceptible to flooding often lasting for up to 48 hours, however in the Great Flood of 1968 the flooding lasted for three days.

The extensive flooded parts of the cave system were found and explored between 1985 and 1990.

The cave contained skeletal remains of both humans and animals, all showing cut-marks and breakage consistent with de-fleshing and eating. Skull fragments, representing from 5 to 7 humans, including a young child of about 3 years and two adolescents. The brain cases appear to have been prepared as drinking cups or containers, a tradition found in other Magdalenian sites across Europe.

In 1903 the remains of a human male, since named Cheddar Man, were found a short distance inside Gough's Cave. He is Britain’s oldest complete human skeleton, having been dated to approximately 7,150 years BCE. There is a suggestion that the man died a violent death, perhaps related to cannibalism, although this has not been proven. taken from the skeleton has been found to match that of Adrian Targett, a man living in the local area today, indicating that Cheddar Man is a very distant ancestor. The remains currently reside in the Natural History Museum in London, with a replica in the Cheddar Man and the Cannibals museum in the Gorge. Other human remains have also been found in the cave.

In 2007 a carving of a mammoth, estimated to be 13,000 years old, was found in the cave.