Scheduled MonumentsEnglandRhinoceros Hole, Wookey

Rhinoceros Hole, Wookey

England
List entry 1010292
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1010292
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.02 hectares
Grid reference
ST 53238 47930
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Rhinoceros Hole is a Palaeolithic cave site located near Wookey in Somerset, England. The cave has yielded significant archaeological evidence of human occupation and faunal remains dating to the late Pleistocene period, including bones of woolly rhinoceros and other megafauna, which have contributed to understanding of prehistoric settlement patterns and environmental conditions in Britain. The site was excavated in the nineteenth century and has remained an important reference point for Palaeolithic archaeology in the Mendip region. The cave's stratigraphy and artefactual assemblages have provided valuable data on human activity during the last glacial period.

Rhinoceros Hole, Wookey is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1010292. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Rhinoceros Hole, Wookey?

Rhinoceros Hole is a Palaeolithic cave site located near Wookey in Somerset, England. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1010292.

Who is responsible for protecting Rhinoceros Hole, Wookey?

Rhinoceros Hole, Wookey is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1010292.

What other scheduled monuments are near Rhinoceros Hole, Wookey?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Fenny Castle Cross: a medieval wayside cross 20m north west of Castle Farm, Castle (4.5 km), Fenny Castle: a motte and bailey castle (5 km), Glastonbury lake village (8.2 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Rhinoceros Hole, Wookey

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Rhinoceros Hole, Wookey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Rhinoceros Hole, Wookey

Rhinoceros Hole, Wookey stands on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.