Creswell Crags forms part of one of Europe's most important archaeological landscapes preserving the most significant cluster of cave sites inhabited during the last Ice Age in Britain. The caves provided shelter for Neanderthal and anatomically modern people through a crucial period of human evolution between 130,000 and 10,000 years ago. Since the 1880s, excavations have produced a wealth of evidence from which it is possible to interpret what life was like for hunters at the edge of Europe. Archaeological finds dating back between 10,000 and 50,000 years ago have also been discovered, including flint and bone tools and carvings, proving that Ice Age hunters visited the site to hunt reindeer and horse.

Creswell Crags hit the headlines in April 2003 with the discovery of the Ice Age Cave Art, billed as one of the most important prehistoric finds in the last decade, Britain's earliest cave art 13,000 years old including figures of birds, deer, bison and horse. Britain's oldest work of art, a fine engraving of a horse on animal rib bone found in Robin Hood Cave and the recent cave art discoveries in Church Hole connects us with the great era of cave painting on the continent. The discovery of cave art at Creswell Crags in 2003 was the most important find from the British Palaeolithic since the discovery of 500,000 year old hominid remains from Boxgrove, West Sussex in the mid 1990s.

Join a site tour to experience the gorge and caves used by our ancestors. Discover how people lived during the Ice Age, the tools they made, and the art they created. Explore the gorge along paths beside the lake or take a longer stroll around the local area. Bring a picnic and relax for a few hours around the site and museum, taking in the displays, family activities, events and the gift shop.

Admission and Opening Times
March – September open every day 10:00– 17:30
October – February weekends only 10:00 – 16:30
Ice Age tour including exhibition £6.50 for adults, £5.00 for concessions and £4.50 for children.
Rock Art including exhibition £8.00 for adults, £7.00 for concessions and £6.00 for children.
Ice Age and Rock Art tour including exhibition £13.00 for adults, £11.00 for concessions and £8.00 for children.

We advise that children should be 5 years or older to go on a cave tour.

For further information or photographs please contact Rebecca Clay.
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01909 720378