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Brixham Cavern

Designations: SAM,  Proposed CGS/RIGS

Designated a Sheduled Ancient Monument, Brixham Cavern (Also known as Windmill Hill Cave) was discovered in 1858 and subsequent excavation revealed important vertebrate remains eg mammoth, woolly rhinoceros and cave lion. (Not open to the public).

GCR block / key theme:  Quaternary of south-west, England and Pleistocene Vertebrata

Associated SSSI: Not applicable

SAM Reason for Designation:
Windmill Hill Cave preserves intact deposits of Late Glacial and Postglacial origin which have been shown by earlier excavations to be extremely rich in palaeoenvironmental and lithic remains.  The site is also of particular significance as it provided the first professionally accepted evidence for the contemporaneity of man and extinct species of fauna.  

Geological / geomorphological features: [Provisional] Quaternary: Brixham Cavern is a historically important source of Pleistocene vertebrate remains, indicating an ssemblage similar to that known from Kent's Cavern. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and was formerly operated as a show cave. The cave was discovered in 1858 and  subsequently excavated, yielding mammoth, horse, woolly rhinoceras, deer, cave lion, hyaena, bear, amongst other remains.

Reasons for proposal as a CGS / RIGS sites:  Brixham Cavern is a key historical site in Torbay, a former source of rich Pleistocene vertebrate faunas. Access is currently  restricted and the cave is privately owned - use is therefore likely to be primarily for research purposes.