Box Mine () is a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

, near the village of

Box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England, notified in 1991. The site forms part of the Bath and Bradford-on-Avon Bats Special Area of Conservation.

Site description

The Mine consists of a network of tunnels, which originate from

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...

mining work, initially started during the

Roman occupation of Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caesa ...

. Several entrances to the mine system are present in wooded quarries.

Biological interest

The site's chief biological interest lies in its roosting

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s. Although the site is used year-round, it is mainly a site used for hibernation, breeding, and post-breeding dispersal. It is thought that the mines provide stable humidity and even temperatures when compared to smaller sites, and this encourages use by bats, particularly outside the breeding season. Up to 10% of the total British population of

greater horseshoe bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an Insectivore, insectivorous bat of the genus ''Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats i ...

uses the mine at times; a maximum of 230 individuals of this species have been counted at the site.

Lesser Horseshoe Bat The lesser horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus hipposideros'') is a type of small European and North African insectivorous bat, related to its larger cousin, the greater horseshoe bat. As with all horseshoe bats, the species gets its name from its dist ...

also uses the mine, as do the four

Myotis The mouse-eared bats or myotises are a diverse and widespread genus (''Myotis'') of bats within the family Vespertilionidae. The noun "''myotis''" itself is a Neo-Latin construction, from the Greek "''muós'' (meaning "mouse") and "''oûs''" ( ...

species – Whiskered, Brandt's, Natterer's and Daubenton's bats.

Sources

Natural England citation sheet for the site
(accessed 22 March 2022) *

External links

Natural England website
(SSSI information)
Bat Special Areas of Conservation: Planning Guidance for Wiltshire
– Wiltshire Council, September 2015 {{Authority control Bat roosts Box, Wiltshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1991