Pottery and ritual finds in Mendip caves

INTERESThas recently been aroused in a small site on Western Mendip. This is a narrow phreatic rift in a hillside, with two passages superimposed above. The lower passage lies beneath what was once a cliff. The rift itself shows some fine phreatic features in the walls, which are covered in places with cubical crystals of galena, the sulphide ore of lead. The narrow fissure entrance leads to a small chamber, perhaps three metres wide, before the passage narrows.

At this point, the investigating cavers were surprised to find a quantity of broken pottery, which has been assigned to the Romano-British period. Oddly, there appears to have been no attempt to mine the galena, although the Roman lead mining industries at Charterhouse and Priddy are well known, and there is evidence of mine activity in other nearby fissures. There are known Roman sites in the immediate area.

There is no evidence that anyone in the past has entered the passage beyond the narrowing and the presence of pottery at this point is intriguing. It cannot be determined if it was broken deliberately or if it simply deteriorated over time.

Some, at least, had been used, as certain sherds show blackening by fire. It is rare indeed for archaeologists to find a complete pot of any age, although some which have been used to bury hoards have still been intact, or at least held together by the surrounding soil.

The fact that this pottery lies at a significant narrowing of the passage suggests ritual and from other contexts it can be supposed that it was to form a boundary between the entrance chamber and what lay beyond.

The presence of such ritual closure or protection is wellknown from the discovery of various so-called witch marks on doors, widows and chimneys in old buildings. They are found in caves as well. At the end of the entrance gallery in Goatchurch Cavern, the passage narrows and descends steeply down the Giant’s Staircase.

Careful examination reveals an “M” or upside-down “W” etched into the wall here. There is a similar marking in Long Hole at Cheddar and those in Aveline’s Hole at Burrington are reckoned to be so important that they have been protected behind a steel gate.

In Wookey Hole, the Devil’s Chimney was once notorious for the sudden appearance of a cold draught and there are witch-marks here a-plenty.

Deposits were often made in the prehistoric period not only as a form of protection from unknown, possibly malevolent forces, but also to ritually close, or retire, a feature. Such finds have been made in abandoned dwellings and other places.

They were often of some value to the community and were almost always broken or damaged beyond further use. Pottery is common, but flint and metal tools are also found. Most have been deliberately damaged.

So it is likely that the pottery found in the rift has been intentionally broken, probably to keep in anything undesirable that lay in the passage beyond, although there is no indication that the cave was ever inhabited, or worked for lead ore.

The cavers have now withdrawn and it is hoped that archaeologists can shed further light on this pottery.