Creswell Crags, Nottinghamshire is one of the most important Upper Palaeolithic cave sites in the British Isles and has been the focus for archaeologists for over 170 years. Palaeolithic research within Creswell Crags has identified evidence for Early Modern Human occupation at what is considered to be the northernmost edge of the habitable world during the later Pleistocene [between 40,000 to 10,000 years ago] when average summer temperatures were around -10 centigrade and the landscape was much different to what it is today.

Church Hole Cave (once referred to as Fissure C or Nott’s Cave), located on the southern side of the Gorge was thoroughly explored by an Anglo-Spanish team who were prospecting for rock art. It was announced in 2003 that the first Late Upper Palaeolithic rock art had been discovered and included clear side-on engravings of red deer, bison and wild foul. The were also other lines and scratches that indicated the presence of modern humans that were roaming the landscape between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago. Fortunately, several of the engravings were covered by a flowstone (stalactite) which was dated using Uranium-Thorium dating techniques to provide a minimum date range.

In 2021, Research Fellow, Dr George Nash at the University of Liverpool explored the walls and ceilings of several caves within the Gorge, including Church Hole Cave and Robin Hood’s Cave. The results of this survey revealed a number of panels in Church Hole Cave that showed potential evidence of painted surfaces using a locally sourced red pigment (what is termed as applied haematite). Church Hole Cave and its neighbouring cave sites sit within a large limestone area and sweeping through these rocks are large spreads of secreted haematite. Sometimes, it is difficult to distinguish between the applied and secreted haematite. However, Dr Nash managed to identify eight panels where probable painted haematite was present, several of which were incorporated into the engravings that were discovered in 2003 and later dated by the University of Southampton. Unfortunately, several painted panels, discovered in 2021 were partially covered by flowstone. It is hoped soon that these and other panels can be sampled and dated (pending Scheduled Monument Consent and permission from Creswell Crags Museum and Heritage Centre).

As suggested earlier, it sometimes difficult to distinguish between natural and applied haematite. More difficult is to see faded painted surfaces with a naked eye. Dr Nash, using a tried and tested desk-based colour algorithm (known as Decorrelation-Stretch), initially scanned the cave walls for potential applied haematite spreads. These areas were photographed using strategic lighting and then enhanced using the Decorrelation-Stretch algorithm. The results from this survey have identified up to eight painted surfaces, all, the result of human agency. In addition to this survey, Dr Nash also scrutinised the cave walls to the rear of the cave where historic engraved graffiti was found. Interestingly, the cave appears to have been visited some 12 years prior to the first exploration of the cave in 1872 by quarry manager Frank Tebbet. The cave was scientifically explored a few years later by J.M. Mello during the summer of 1875. For both these explorers, the initial visit would have been a tight fit! As far as Dr Nash is aware, and as yet, there has been no research undertaken on the engraved graffiti, some of which may date before 1860.

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