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Ancestral Geographies of the Neolithic, Edmonds, Bender

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Bontnewydd Cave - Cave or Rock Shelter in Wales in Denbighshire

Submitted by TimPrevett on Monday, 14 October 2002  Page Views: 20962

Natural PlacesSite Name: Bontnewydd Cave Alternative Name: Pontnewydd
Country: Wales
NOTE: This site is 0.619 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Denbighshire Type: Cave or Rock Shelter
Nearest Town: Denbigh
Map Ref: SJ009712  Landranger Map Number: 116
Latitude: 53.228563N  Longitude: 3.485985W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 3

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Bontnewydd Cave
Bontnewydd Cave submitted by TimPrevett : The bricked up entrance to Bontnewydd Cave. Earliest human remains here dated to 220,000 BC. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Cave or Rock Shelter in Denbighshire

A very important site in the history of humans in Wales, dating back to circa 220,000 BC. The cave was bricked up, with 3 doors barring access to the interior, though the outer door has shifted on its hinges.

It is still nonetheless worthwhile paying a visit if in the area, and looking closely. Parking is a challenge in the village beneath. Try in a layby on the right hand side on the lane to Tyddyn Bleiddin, or in front of the gate from which there is a short walk to the facade.
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Bontnewydd Cave
Bontnewydd Cave submitted by TimPrevett : Viewing down the main cave. I supsect there are parts to the rear that have been sealed off. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bontnewydd Cave
Bontnewydd Cave submitted by TimPrevett : There are still tags from excavations in Bontnewydd... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Bontnewydd Cave
Bontnewydd Cave submitted by TimPrevett : If you visit the entrance of the cave, look carefully, as you might be able to access... and take a torch and a friend... it's dark in there! Oldest remains in Wales so far found in there. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
SJ0071 : Stone bridge over stream by Dot Potter
by Dot Potter
©2006(licence)
SJ0170 : Meadow at Bont-Newydd by Philip Halling
by Philip Halling
©2014(licence)
SJ0170 : Roadworks on the bridge by Philip Halling
by Philip Halling
©2014(licence)
SJ0071 : Pastureland near Cefn Meiriadog by Dot Potter
by Dot Potter
©2005(licence)
SJ0170 : Bridge over the Elwy at Bont Newydd by Dot Potter
by Dot Potter
©2005(licence)

The above images may not be of the site on this page, they are loaded from Geograph.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 353m WNW 285° Nant-Y-Graig Cave or Rock Shelter (SJ00567130)
 822m NNE 15° Tan-y-graig Stone Row / Alignment (SJ01137199)
 1.3km N 351° Tyddyn Bleiddyn* Chambered Cairn (SJ00727246)
 1.6km ESE 115° Cefn-Yr-Ogof Cave or Rock Shelter (SJ023705)
 2.0km E 92° Ffynnon Fair (Trefnant)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ02927107)
 3.1km SE 131° Plas Heaton Cave Cave or Rock Shelter (SJ03206911)
 3.6km W 278° Mynydd-y-Gaer* Hillfort (SH973718)
 5.5km NW 323° St George's Well (Denbighshire) Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SH97657567)
 5.6km NNW 331° Terfyn Well Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SH98317613)
 6.1km NW 317° Dinorben Hillfort (SH968757)
 7.5km E 80° St Beuno's Well (Tremeirchion)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ083723)
 7.6km E 79° Cae Gwyn* Cave or Rock Shelter (SJ0843972501)
 7.7km E 79° Ffynnon Beuno (Caves)* Cave or Rock Shelter (SJ0849972500)
 7.8km SW 231° Plas Newydd Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SH94716644)
 8.1km ENE 75° Penuchaf Cairn (SJ08837315)
 8.4km ENE 67° Moel Maen Efa* Barrow Cemetery (SJ087743)
 8.4km NNE 24° Ffynnon Fair (Rhuddlan)* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (SJ045788)
 8.6km NE 51° Llyn-Y-Gorseddau 1 Round Barrow(s) (SJ07657651)
 8.6km E 91° Moel-y-Gaer (Bodfari)* Hillfort (SJ09527080)
 8.6km NE 50° Llyn-Y-Gorseddau 2 Round Barrow(s) (SJ07687657)
 8.6km NE 50° Llyn-Y-Gorseddau 3 Round Barrow(s) (SJ07647662)
 8.7km E 81° Cefn Du Ancient Village or Settlement (SJ0956272450)
 8.9km NE 43° Marion Bach 1 Round Barrow(s) (SJ07057759)
 9.0km NE 47° Aelwyd Uchaf (Cottage) Barrows Round Barrow(s) (SJ0758577185)
 9.1km NE 35° Moel Hiraddug* Hillfort (SJ063785)
View more nearby sites and additional images

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"Bontnewydd Cave" | Login/Create an Account | 7 News and Comments
  
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Re: Bontnewydd Cave by Anonymous on Tuesday, 15 March 2022
As a student volunteer at this site in 1978 (or was it 1979?), I was given the task of carefully sifting the spoil heaps material outside the cave entrance (left by a previous excavation of many years ago). The more experienced archaeologists were excavating inside the cave.
Lo and behold a polished hand axe appeared in the spoil! It brought great joy to the team and it was presented to the man in charge of the excavation Stephen Green.
I understand it was taken to the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff.
The site was established then as the earliest known human habitation site in Wales (whether it still holds that honour I do not know).
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Bontnewydd Cave by Anonymous on Thursday, 17 December 2020
I worked on the site with Dr Green for 2 seasons starting in 1978. The cave bear teeth which were really huge are what has stuck in my mind. Where I live in the Drone valley in S. W. France I can usually find more neanderthal tools in an hour then we used to find in 2 weeks in north wales
[ Reply to This ]

The oldest people in Wales - Neanderthal teeth from Pontnewydd Cave by Andy B on Thursday, 25 January 2018
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Excavations at Pontnewydd Cave, Denbighshire have discovered the oldest human remains known from Wales dating back some 230,000 years.

Excavations at the cave by Amgueddfa Cymru between 1978 and 1995 unearthed a total of 19 teeth, discovered found deep inside the cave. These have been identified by experts at the Natural History Museum, London as belonging to an early form of Neanderthal.

More at
https://museum.wales/articles/2013-07-09/The-oldest-people-in-Wales---Neanderthal-teeth-from-Pontnewydd-Cave/
[ Reply to This ]
    The sound of the Neanderthals by Andy B on Thursday, 25 January 2018
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    Neanderthal remains dating back 230,000 years have been found at Pontnewydd Cave, Denbighshire in Wales. The teeth and stone tools provided the inspiration for composer Simon Thorne to create a soundscape, Neanderthal, to play in the galleries at Amgueddfa Cymru to bring otherwise silent displays to life

    Neanderthals were an evolutionary dead-end, although modern humans such as ourselves shared a common ancestor with them some 600,000 years ago. They have the same inner ear and vocal structures as us, and therefore had the ability to create and hear sounds. It is possible, however, that Neanderthal brains worked in very different ways from ours. The links between different parts of the brain might not have been as fluid as they are in ours. They might not have been able to form language as a way to communicate.

    Neanderthals might have had a better capacity than us to communicate and to express themselves through song. The soundscape Simon has created is based on the voice and recordings of natural sounds recorded during a visit to Pontnewydd Cave. These include the drips from the cave roof and the river flowing in the valley bottom. The sounds a Neanderthal heard would have included the communication of animals and bird song. Neanderthals would have made sounds themselves too. These would have included the chipping of stone tools; when flint is knapped (or struck) an unflawed nodule rings with a bright sound and the knapper knows whether the flint is suitable for making the flakes needed to create a stone toolkit. Neanderthals could use their voices; perhaps they sang their way through their landscapes and used sound to communicate to one another while hunting.

    Neanderthal is pure imagination. However, it is based on science and helps to bring an otherwise silent museum display to life in new and exciting ways.

    Article by: Elizabeth Walker, Curator of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Archaeology

    The Neanderthal soundscapes can be heard on this page
    https://museum.wales/articles/2009-05-14/The-sound-of-the-Neanderthals/
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Bontnewydd Cave by coldrum on Saturday, 09 January 2010
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Coflein site entry.

http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/306687/details/BONT+NEWYDD+CAVE%3BBONT-NEWYDD+CAVE%3B+PONTNEWYDD+CAVE/
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Bontnewydd Cave by Anonymous on Friday, 30 January 2009
A quote from David Miles in his book "The Tribes of Britain" concerning this cave.

"... the most north-westerly Neanderthal occupation site known is at the Pontnewydd Cave in North Wales. The remains of an adult and two children aged about twelve and nine are those of early Neanderthals of about 240,000.* They shared the steppe environment with wolf, bear, leopard, rhinoceros, horse and bison. Hand axes, spear tips and scrapers from the cave illustrate the tool kit necessary to kill and butcher their prey and prepare skins. The Neanderthals also lit fires for protection, warmth and cooking. This may sound like classic cave-man behaviour, but in fact the Neanderthals' main living area was probably outside under the shelter of the cliff. Much of the occupation debris was later pushed into the cave by the advancing glacier and so preserved, while ice gripped the land.
*This is very early and, strictly speaking, these people are ancestral to fully developed Neanderthals."

Miles, D (2006) "The Tribes of Britain", London, Orion

Like the above commenter, I too have a personal connection with these caves, and spent a lot of time there as a child, cycling there with our picnics and bananas and chocolate buttons wrapped in foil to cook on a fire. I Doubt the Neanderthals had chocolate buttons but I'm glad they placed the animals in Chester Zoo!
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Bontnewydd Cave by Anonymous on Sunday, 09 March 2008
I LIVED IN CEFN NEARLY ALL MY LIFE I REMEMBER WITH GREAT INTERST DR GREEN COMING TO DIG IN BONTNEWYDD CAVE MANY YRS AGO RAY ROBERTS
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