A Possible Engraving of a Mammoth in Gough’s Cave, Cheddar, Somerset

In 2003, during an examination of Gough’s Cave for Palaeolithic art, a figure was noted on the wall of an alcove, in an area of the cave not affected by blasting. The figure resembles a mammoth. Close inspection suggests that engraved lines may complement natural features of the rock surface suggestive of the trunk and possibly also the tusks. The geomorphic history of the cave gives a context in which an engraved line may have become obscured by erosion processes during repeated flood episodes. An analysis of the archaeological and palaeontological context suggests that an ancient engraving of this nature would not be out of place in this cave It is concluded that this figure might have been engraved during the Late Upper Palaeolithic occupation of the cave.