Read's Cavern is a

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

Burrington Combe Burrington Combe is a Carboniferous Limestone Canyon, gorge near the village of Burrington, Somerset, Burrington, on the north side of the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in North Somerset, England. "Combe" or "coombe" is a wo ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England, in which traces of

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

occupation have been found. It lies under Dolebury Hill. Its large main chamber has a boulder ruckle floor and is parallel to a cliff face. The cave was excavated by the

University of Bristol Spelæological Society The University of Bristol Spelæological Society (UBSS) was founded in 1919 by cavers in the University of Bristol. Among its earliest activities was the archaeological excavation of Aveline's Hole. The club owns a hut, which was formerly a ladi ...

(UBSS) in the 1920s, when relics of

occupation were found. The UBSS excavation followed the removal of 21 tonnes of limestone material below a cliff where a stream sinks. Among the finds were ironwork described as slave shackles. After its discovery, the cave was first known as ''Keltic'' or ''Celtic Cavern'' until the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

decided that it should be known as Read's Cavern, after Mr. R. F. Read, the discoverer. It has also been called "Gough's Cave".Neff, Hector (1992). ''Chemical characterization of ceramic pastes in archaeology'', p. 282: "Gough's Cave or Read's Cavern"

References

{{reflist Caves of the Mendip Hills Limestone caves Wild caves