<< Our Photo Pages >> Ryhope Caves - Cave or Rock Shelter in England in Tyne and Wear
Submitted by durhamnature on Thursday, 13 September 2012 Page Views: 6302
Natural PlacesSite Name: Ryhope Caves Alternative Name: Tunstall Hope cavesCountry: England County: Tyne and Wear Type: Cave or Rock Shelter
Nearest Town: Sunderland Nearest Village: Ryhope
Map Ref: NZ39985366
Latitude: 54.876112N Longitude: 1.378465W
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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A series of small caves in magnesian limestone, in a south facing cliff overlooking the Tunstall Hope valley.
Tyne and Wear HER 160
Roger Miket NZ35SE number 11
Discovered in 1865 during limestone quarrying operations, the skeletons of 5 men, one woman, and one child were found in the caves, together with bones of goat, ox, pig, rabbit, sheep, dog, birds and fish. Shells and charcoal were also found.
Four of the skulls went to Sunderland Museum. Many of the bones and possibly some artifacts were removed by quarrymen and local people before the find became known to archaeologists. Consequently, this site is poorly recorded. A modern excavation in 1975 by A. Harding found very little.
The caves were cleared out and used as an air raid shelter during the second world war, and the valley bottom was later used to tip colliery spoil, filling it to a depth of 5 to 10 meters. Consequently, the caves, which had been part way up a 15 meter cliff, now have their entrances at surface level, and most of their length is below surface level. The caves were bricked up for safety reasons some years ago, but are now accessible again, to adventurous visitors. Each is a narrow squeeze down into a larger space. Beer cans and crisp packets show occasional use by teenagers.
The entrances of four caves are easily visible from footpaths or close to footpaths. Its not clear exactly which caves held the finds. Perhaps the remaining caves are the quarried remains of a larger, more complex cave. The caves are described in D. Brook's "Northern Caves" .
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