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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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…

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.

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

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

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

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. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ahhh, one of my FAVORITE episodes. Goodnoise.

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

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.

Here for Tony

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...

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 - ....

This was very interesting. Thanks.

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.

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

Very informative, thank you!

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Phil is the Ted Nuggent of British Archeology!

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

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.

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

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

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

"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!

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

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.

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

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

Wow that lord with the monocle is also prehistoric

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

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

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?

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! 😅

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

wow

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.

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.

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

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

Spear Straightener.

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.

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.

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

"When granny died" CHOP CHOP CHOP

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

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?

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

An extremely young Phil!

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

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.

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

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

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

I'd enjoy cave exploring with Kate 😊😊😊

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

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

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

Victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to Carenza.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

Good fun if you don't mind mud

That cave was there before the road

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

🏃💨ahhhh bad dog!🦖💨💨💨

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

Is this the area they found the Cheddar man?

"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???

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

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... '

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

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

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

IT'S CAVE MA'AM!

why has everything got to be achieved within 3 days on all of the programs? It's so restrictive to place a time limit on what you do.

baton de comandement....tent peg?

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

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

Dude it's a shaft straitner

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I think it's a utensil for twisting vines into rope

Gollum