The Prehistoric Mysteries Of The Cave People Living In Cheddar Gorge | Time Team | Odyssey

Is this cave in the spectacular Cheddar Gorge one of the UK's earliest homes? Tony Robinson and the Time Team delve deep into the earth to solve this prehistoric mystery
Odyssey is your journey into the world of Ancient History; from the dawn of Mesopotamia to the fall of Rome. We'll be bringing you only the best documentaries that journey into the mysteries and ruins of worlds long lost.
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[@mclarenscca]

I live near Springfield Missouri, and while a new highway was being constructed, they found a prehistoric cave, with stone age tools, mammoth bone, and early human remains. Its now nationally protected.

[@jakeharris9075]

Funny how in that time, that was probably the most desirable area of the country to live in:)

[@BalthazarMyrrh70]

That's where they filmed the Simpson's!

[@zxyatiywariii8]

@Myron Kroeker Maybe, but in the episode where they showed Springfield on a US map, they intentionally hid the location behind the characters, so it would be impossible to know which -- of the many Springfields in the US -- is the Simpsons' Springfield.

[@patrickbush9526]

🏃💨ahhh!bad dog!🦖💨💨

[@newfoundland042961]

Robert would you know the name of the site I would like to learn more about it. Thanks

[@badbiker666]

I must express my appreciation to those who are willing to do what I am not to expand knowledge. I would never go into a narrow cave. I would never spend hours or days digging in mud. These people do this so that we can sit in our comfy chairs and absorb the knowledge they worked so hard to illuminate. I salute them and their intestinal fortitude!

[@bellakaldera3305]

As an archer, I can tell you that the "baton" is like an arrow wrench, used to straighten a shaft for a javelin or atlatl dart, arrow wrenches are sized for arrows, but the diameter of the hole suggests bigger shafts, the spiral grooves would grip the shaft while one applies torque to bend a sapling straight.

[@tristenshumway6999]

My exact thoughts. Not a holding stick like they're trying to say. The Anasazi around Colorado and Utah used the same tools.

[@dgwachtel]

I took my undergraduate degree in Anthropology with an emphasis on Archeology from SUNY. A course on ancient tools posited that the "baton" was used for straightening spear shafts and later arrow shafts. This tool was used for thousands of years even up until historic times by the Eskimo people. Since my time, experimental archaeology has hypothesized additional uses for this tool including spear throwing, rope making among others. The notion of the "baton" being a symbol of authority as mentioned in the video is a new one on me and to me seems to be quite far fetched. Hopefully this notion has been discarded. Too much speculation seems to be a weakness of many archaeologists. All that being said, despite the occasional wild speculation, Time Team is a fascinating series, although three days is way too short. Even field schools were longer. -dave

[@cmmc3400]

I read your post after posting the same!

[@ProLiberate]

@@dgwachtel you paid for that? Lol

[@dgwachtel]

@@ProLiberate What exactly do you find funny about Anthropology/Archaeology, getting a degree and academic work? As an undergraduate I received a grant to do Obsidian research in Wyoming. I had access to a scanning electron microscope fitted with an X-Ray spectrometer analyze the samples I brought back. Although my major of record was Anthropology/Archaeology, I studied other subjects as well. I needed just a few credits or required courses for additional undergraduate degrees in Computer Science and Philosophy. It would have taken an additional year of undergraduate study. I was also offered assistantships in both Anthropology through to the PhD, and Computer Science through to at least a masters degree. However I had expended my savings from my job of twelve years at a space science Laboratory and foolishly didn't take advantage of the opportunities I was offered. I should have taken out a loan as they weren't that prohibitively expensive back in 1983. I was thirty five years old when I graduated and had a twenty year plus career as a software developer, software development team leader, tech company manager and consultant. Now do you still think this is funny? -dave

[@tonyhunt341]

I went to Gough's cave in the late 50s or early 60s when I was about 10 or 11, bought a small box of rock samples which got me interested in geology and archaeology. Now at 71 the interest is still as strong. Brought back memories although now in NZ and still home sick. Thank you Time Team it is special for me.

[@TracyD2]

👍🏼 awesome I would of love to do that even though we did explore all day every day as kids nothing around here is that old. We looked for Native American arrow heads and graves in the woods. Still fun.

[@donnieboughton1730]

How could you be 10 or 11 in the late 50s to early 60s and only be 71 now? Even if you were 10 years old in 1960 you'd be 72 or 73 years old today...

[@meatavoreNana]

@@donnieboughton1730 o for Heavens sake, lighten up

[@meatavoreNana]

Not too many exciting places like that in New Zealand, not of ancient human history anyway.

[@marionchase-kleeves8311]

No up date after how many decades?

[@shri081]

Victor the silent hero in all of this….giving us an insight into the past with his steady and imaginative hands…his renditions are always something I look forward to in these episodes…

[@TrophyNZ1]

love when the tyre is bought up and Tony casually says " Well we have made it to the 1970's"

[@1959Berre]

The tool is for unbending shafts for making spears. You put the bended stick in the hole and you apply force on the tool. It gives you leverage.

[@lawrencedawson9697]

Ever since I was a little boy and I am now 56 I've always wanted to live underground or in a cave and I still do desire that lifestyle. It's just something about being Underground as a dweller

[@aserta]

Bout the only people who managed to do that were the guys in Turkey who built that underground city, and even they didn't last long. Humans aren't build for that unfortunately. Aside from sickness based on moisture, unless you have exposure to the sun, you'll get sick from lack of vitamin D. It's why prisons, for example, are obliged to get the inmates to walk in the yard. Sickly white, is what they used to call them, back when they didn't much care for human rights, like in the Bastille.

[@albow4oops5]

Hobbit?

[@TracyD2]

Look up subterranean houses or those houses built underground in the SW United States. Those places are a dream. I always felt the same by the way.

[@deanbristow4596]

I hear you there.👍

[@barbaraherriott5025]

Chinchilla in Spain has houses made From caves...

[@johnrigler8858]

"We thought we found a mailbox saying 'The Flint'stones', but the Rubbles next door say we're mistaken! "

[@seanh4841]

Haha

[@mirandahotspring4019]

Only Tony Robinson could turn a three day dig where nothing significant was found, into an interesting and entertaining 50 min video.

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

and the script writers

[@1Polglen]

Delighted to find a time team episode I haven't seen before.

[@jakeharris9075]

They’re so young!

[@brianjohnson8918]

Phil was born about 10,000 years too soon. Put some furs on him & you've got a cracker-jack caveman! Reeling in the horse was hilarious. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@williamharris8367]

I am feeling claustrophobic just watching this video! There is utterly no way that I would ever get beyond the entrance to the cave.

[@tonib.3016]

Same here. I hate heights AND tight cave like spaces. I've gone to Moaning Caverns in CA. The main cavern is taller than the Statue of Liberty. Poor unknowing folk fell into it because there are holes above,when the wind blew the Caverns would "moan"...ugh. Some poor native girl fell into the cavern thru one of those holes. Unfortunately for her she didn't die. Fell into utter darkness. With her broken leg(possibly both legs) she climbed up the sides of the cavern,in pitch black darkness. Climbing up,trying to get out. They found her skeleton in the cave,as high up as she could climb. That story has haunted me since the day I heard it.

[@edwardpincus]

Wow! This episode is exciting, better than a “who done it!” Maybe great archeological finds weren’t revealed at this time, but having incidental teasers show themselves ought to point the way to other serious archeological inquiries. Wonderful. Thanks so much.

[@josephhewes3923]

This whole expedition was a fail.

[@sirridesalot6652]

Another thing I found interesting even ironic is that they wanted to find signs of habitation so that they could get this cave scheduled and protected from people like who Malcom who in an earlier visit to the cave unwittingly destroyed what might have been needed to have the cave scheduled.

[@RHCole]

Ahhh, one of my FAVORITE episodes. Goodnoise.

[@_maxgray]

As someone who grew up in an area where the geology means you Do Not go into underground caves when it's raining, this episode felt very weird.

[@UnitSe7en]

The cave they were in is 30 feet to the back and 6 feet deep. They're not going to get caught by flooding, dude. ffs.

[@larryzigler6812]

What about above ground caves ?

[@_maxgray]

@@larryzigler6812 Aboveground caves don't have the same same risk profile

[@_maxgray]

@@UnitSe7en Right - because the geology of their area is different. I didn't grow up near Cheddar Gorge. Nor any of the rest of the many British caves where you commonly see people explore during storms.

[@larryzigler6812]

@@_maxgray I disagree !!!!! The mere thought of a cave above the ground is frightening !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@polyglotbingo]

Very informative, thank you!

[@nuggetoftruth-ericking7489]

This was very interesting. Thanks.

[@Qingeaton]

At the 28:00 min mark, I say it was a tool used for straightening wooden poles. The grooves keep the pole from sliding when pressure is applied after the wood has been wet and is being heat treated.

[@jamespriddy8275]

I’ve had to dig in crawl spaces under houses a few times to create the legal 18” crawl area. I hired two guys to loosen the dirt with claw hammers and other tools. I rigged up a big shop vacuum with enough hose to reach all around. Each time the vacuum was full, I emptied it into a wheelbarrow and hauled it away. It was a great system. I know there are vacuum trucks available because I’ve hired them in other construction digging. Why don’t these guys use a vacuum truck? Then water is no problem.

[@benediktmorak4409]

This is one of the episodes i did feel with the team and that includes the -camera-. wet and cold and muddy.And always in danger that the whole lot will come down crashing on them. Interesting though, the episode came up the second time on my thumbnails. This time under the - Odyssey - label. The first time it was -Time Team - ....

[@raymondreiff8170]

I used to watch this channel all the time it's time to watch again 🇺🇸👍

[@sirridesalot6652]

The tool with the round hole at one end at the 28:10 point reminds me a lot of the type of ancient tool used to straighten arrow shafts.

[@allon33]

That is the killer rabbit cave, from the holy grail movie. lol

[@leong108]

The tool with the hole helps with roping in an animal, just as fishermen use the reel and fishing rod to wear the fish out, even when the line is not strong enough to hold the fish from escaping directly. Why ? they can control the letting out of the rope.. they can slow the rope down without getting rope burn on their hands, and they act as a team better, applying more tension to the rope, with the work of all people adding to the tension. Without the eyelet tool, the force can be applied to just one man, and the reaction time of that man can result in maximum force being applied to the man .. eg dragging him over, or giving him rope burns and other injuries. The eyelet therefore means that if a large tension occurs, the rope runs through. But then, as the hand extends toward the angle, the angle of the rope through the eyelet increases the friction, and its causing the animal to wear itself out creating heat in the eyelet - rather than injury to the person. The eye can be used for rope abseiling and rope climbing, as well . For example, if an animal, or friend, is in a cave, or the wall of the gorge, they can go in to retrieve, using the eyelets on the rope to slow descent or create solid holds on the rope to climb with.

[@jackthunderbolt4307]

Though my question is: why rope it when you could just stab it or throw a spear or shoot an arrow?

[@johndavis6119]

Very good work here gang. Hope you can get the cave listed.

[@Patrick_Cooper]

I crawled into a lava tube somewhere in Oregon USA back in the 80's it had a tight entrance that made my claustrophobia come front and center. But once inside it was very cool...

[@truthandlife4101]

We were never cave men gatherers , but People hid out in caves for protection. Genesis 1:7

[@crunkdaddy11]

Here for Tony

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thanks.

[@destonlee2838]

1970s deposit of auto debris are often referred to as detroitus.

[@raeperonneau4941]

😂

[@Angryoldman50]

I think the water idea was the best idea ..to flood and pump .. until you actually clean it out completely you'll never know if there's other stuff in there.

[@annamosier1950]

wow

[@vanzikky]

Just love experimental archeology....i think the roping in theory is a bit weird though ☺️

[@kylegawron5358]

so when grandma died "chop chop chop" and im like

[@meatavoreNana]

I'm a granny..Bit of a worry..

[@peterh8253]

Are we sure Lord Bath isn't one of Phil's relatives?

[@carcasscruncher9354]

The antler tool with the hole and threaded like grooves in the hole is interesting. Like most tools i believe it served more than one purpose. Some have pointed out it may have been used to straighten spear or arrow shafts and the threaded like grooves helped to grip the shaft when levered. However, while that may very well be a use of it i think another use may have been for spinning rope. I dont believe is was used to wrangle horses in though. Those groves may not have ever been intended but rather wear and tear on the tool from spinning loads of rope through it. Any silica on the plant fibers being pulled and spun through the hole will wear grooves like that. So i looked up ancient rope spinning tools and there are some that are shown online that have holes with grooves in antler exactly like that one in this documentary.

[@joshbeaulieu7408]

They could have made a whole other series just off of the little side projects; it would have been cool to watch how that stone awl was made.

[@sheilawhite8314]

been there in the 70s with my sister just loved it I still have a toy from there that I part company ok cost me in those days 15 pounds lol and this looks good as new

[@katiearbuckle9017]

Hi, I am linked to this Cave Genetically. So coming to learn more.

[@j.l.emerson592]

I thought that the so called batons were used to make cordage & rope... The spiral carvings were meant to give the cordage a twist as it was pulled through the hole.

[@einienj3281]

37:40 That cave pump sounds like a death metal singer.. 🤘🏻😄😄🤭🤣

[@dakotashea3561]

Learning itll take two days to get to the archeology, is the closest we ever got to hearing Tony legit curse on the program xD

[@wiv2631]

"We only have three days," to do what should take weeks and even months if done with proper care and attention to detail. But what the hell, it will be suspenseful for the viewers, and we might stumble across something to crow about!

[@josephschuster]

RIP Lord Bath. Died of pneumonia infection after contracting Covid.

[@thesteelrodent1796]

so when they had a cave full of sludge, why not call in a vacuum truck which is designed to deal with that kind of stuff? Seems like it would've been the most logical solution, rather than bailing water with a helmet and barrels

[@user-rc4vo1th9j]

The "baton de commandment" is a camp fire stick breaking tool. You put a stick through the hole and bend it against the ground until it breakes. It's for making your camp fire wood (sticks) an acceptable length before you put it on the fire. You can break sticks with your hands and feet, but if you've ever done this before you will know it's a job that "gets old quick". The baton makes a quick and easy job of it.

[@user-rc4vo1th9j]

The grooves in the hole is not there because it was put there on purpose. It's because many times the stick you're trying to break is not straight. And when you try to bend it against the ground the stick will twist and start putting grooves in the hole. The reason some of the batons are found broken is beacuse if you try to break a stick thats too big sometimes the baton will break instead of the stick.

[@yooper6161]

Phil is the Ted Nuggent of British Archeology!

[@travelinalaskan]

I'm pretty sure if you have at times seven 28:25 is a tool used for straightening arrow shafts. This is an amateurs opinion of course.

[@Gorboduc]

44:55 could have worked if one of them held the tool stationary and the other did a left hand/right hand back and forth motion with the hide.

[@travelinalaskan]

@@Gorboduc perhaps, but I think only if the hair was already slipping. This looks like a piece of hair on tanned hide which will lock the hair in good and tight.

[@maulwurf62]

Having worked in underground construction for almost 30 years I can safely say that adding water to dilute the mud would’ve been a good idea! 😅

[@Reikorei]

Wow that lord with the monocle is also prehistoric

[@sirridesalot6652]

I wonder. Even if they did find a few bones and a few tools in this cave, would that be indicative of long habitation? It could be that someone went into the cave to shelter for a few hours to a few days and then left. If that were the case could that cave still be scheduled?

[@michellel564]

Those two sifting through all the dirt need to put the brakes on. Dig down to where you need to get to find what you need to find so you can make this as site to be excavated on for more than 3 days! Ain't that what we're after?

[@johnashleyhalls]

OK, Phil makes it look easy but, the original tool operators would have been faster at that kind work, To me, that shape would make an excellent tent peg . Or maybe a totem stick? Meanwhile, Carenza for the win.

[@GLOBAL-INTIFADA]

Lol God bless hear how happy that lady was when he said it was stone cut marks

[@redneckhippy2020]

atlatl dart straightener would be my guess. There's a certain irony in using the antler of a creature to make a weapon to kill it.

[@conradrex7386]

Spear Straightener.

[@1959Berre]

Exactly

[@peterkohl1863]

Thing with a hole in it/ perhaps use some sort of Vine through the hole and stone at the end of vine to use as sort of a BOLA

[@jonnywatts2970]

So does scheduled mean people will no longer be allowed inside?

[@TheMajorMicro]

"When granny died" CHOP CHOP CHOP

[@thurayya8905]

Larry and his cave men, the spiral groove, the mid stone age -- several good band names 😁

[@thurayya8905]

The paleolithicals

[@balderii7340]

The “totem-stick” could’ve been used for ropes on a boat. Lot of water round an island!

[@Russia-bullies]

The tool made could have been a climbing tool for fastening ropes.

[@marcelovolcato8892]

Victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to Carenza.

[@SyrinxofOz]

One I've never seen! 😮 All that hair, they look so young.

[@djb3500]

Got stuck in a drain as a child. Watching anyone poking around in caves gives me the skeevies.

[@kenluther9948]

oh look, they built that cave right off the hiway. how convenient.

[@alanmcrae1601]

You mean, look, they built that highway right by the cave, don't you.

[@juditrotter5176]

Highway built on a Roman Road maybe? Though it might be fun to roll a big cheese down the hill!

[@violetdreams1799]

by my observation, no matter where your home is, when it comes to roads, they'll build it as close to your front door as they can.. 🤔

[@seanh4841]

@@alanmcrae1601 Ken kant spelled

[@seanh4841]

@@juditrotter5176 I'm all for that

[@WendyDarling1974]

Is it weird that I actually kind of enjoyed the episodes where they can hardly find anything? I guess for me it’s because it represents realism.

[@DaveRogers583]

Those two monitors sabatoged the whole dig purposely. Insured it wouldn't be productive.

[@sonyascott6114]

Don't cha just love the statement he said.The flint tools were no longer of any archeological sucnificance,so he got rid of them.Translated into English means he SOLD them.Aahh

[@einienj3281]

Selling: A spacious cave, with parking and good access.

[@pakde8002]

Doesn't look like any archeology dig I've ever seen, except maybe an Indiana Jones film.

[@52ponybike]

This show was a real treat as I had to, HAD TO stop watching when the new show took over. Night and day difference between the two. The new show with its mostly awful characters will never replace the original.

[@the-nomad]

An extremely young Phil!

[@Amy-ky5wr]

Good fun if you don't mind mud

[@TheAnarchitek]

It might have been ancient peoples between 2500BC and 700BC, who sought refuge in caves during the "troubles" of that period, and the caves might have been "home" to many peoples, in earlier times, but it's likely people only sought shelter in caves when they had no other or better choices. The Ellora Caves in India, the caves at Lascaux, and others around the world show careful preparation and extended living arrangements, perhaps on the scale of the number one derives from the Mayan Long Count.

[@cmmc3400]

I have seen arrow straigheners made of stone. Could it be?

[@markschuler1511]

He doesn't really look any younger but this is the most hair I've ever seen on Tony's head! Lol 😆

[@frankenmauler3759]

3 days? What mouth breather made that decision? They may as well just leave it be as conduct a crash course in archaeology.

[@cyndijacob7829]

Is this the area they found the Cheddar man?

[@GLOBAL-INTIFADA]

Lol oh now it's coming too me this hole you just dug wasn't where I meant it was two meters that way ahahahah

[@firefox5926]

32:24 another reson it may have been inhabited cave with a view and indoor plumbing

[@peterkohl1863]

Question ? Why place a car parking area right under a potential rock fall ???

[@zodammit]

IT'S CAVE MA'AM!

[@sallyreno6296]

baton de comandement....tent peg?

[@alfredmolison7134]

Putting more liquid down to pull out the mud is how oil we'll drilling works. I wish they'd given it a try.

[@movingpicutres99]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟👏❗️

[@brianwillerton8659]

An arrow shaft straightener....or At-Atl.

[@johnanderson7925]

That cave was there before the road

[@michaelcriger6359]

"He no longer has them in his possession." Not even immediately after he found them, as it appears he did in the video? Was this video deceptively edited, or did he indeed know the value of those fossils???

[@robfinch3277]

Re the bone "rope hauler", I would suggest a more likely use for it would be as a shaft straightener for a spear shaft..maybe... '

[@patrickbush9526]

🏃💨ahhhh bad dog!🦖💨💨💨

[@maricogan2903]

This is fascinating but I hate caves...........

[@johndelmar9148]

This three-day thing is just not enough I never learned anything from watching these

[@TravisBrady-wn8fr]

I also live in the cave. Was tranquil after the vikings left until these people came with shovels and cameras. I preferred the vikings.

[@aserta]

Choosing the rainy period (and i know UK has only rainy season) was a bad choice. Caves and water don't play nice. Bummer.

[@iwalkincircles2960]

How old is this? Looks older

[@skildude]

The Baton is clearly a caveman's bottle opener.

[@kathystevetrooperblanck609]

I could understand a 3day time limit when you were digging up a section of downtown London. But you are digging up a cave that isn't any where near a large town.

[@larryzigler6812]

Short bus ?

[@cat_terrell]

The show always do their digs in 3 days only, everywhere. I think it's lame. Fast food type archeology.

[@larryzigler6812]

@@cat_terrell Then don't watch.

[@cat_terrell]

@@larryzigler6812 I watch what I want to. Don't give directives. Choochie🤣

[@cat_terrell]

@@larryzigler6812 I gave this episode a 👎🏽too lmao 🤣 mostly because of their stupid behavior at the end. I get the 3 day limit. How else would they be able to keep a series that ran so long? Orrrrrr, do so much half ass archeo research that millions of ppl like us would still be watching. We're all dumbed down by it.😉 It's still interesting. Choocharill🤣