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Paviland Cave is a limestone cave located on the Gower Peninsula in Swansea, Wales, notable as one of Britain's most significant Upper Palaeolithic sites. The cave is best known for the discovery in 1823 of the remains of a young adult human, termed the "Red Lady of Paviland" due to ochre staining of the skeleton, now dated to approximately 33,000 years ago and representing one of the earliest anatomically modern humans recovered in Britain. The cave mouth opens into the south-facing cliff face and contains archaeological deposits spanning the Upper Palaeolithic period, with evidence of human occupation, tool manufacture, and faunal remains reflecting the environment and subsistence practices of the time. Paviland remains a key site for understanding early human presence and behaviour in prehistoric Wales and the broader British Isles.
Paviland Cave is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM504. View the official record →
Paviland Cave is a limestone cave located on the Gower Peninsula in Swansea, Wales, notable as one of Britain's most significant Upper Palaeolithic sites. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM504.
Paviland Cave dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a cave. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across Britain.
Paviland Cave is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is GM504.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Paviland Camp (0.1 km), Horse Cliff Camp (0.3 km), Cave 40m SE of Deborah's Hole (0.5 km).
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain — drawing on scheduled monument data, Domesday records, Roman heritage, PAS finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around Paviland Cave