AN INTERGLACIAL EPISODE AT ROBIN HOOD'S CAVE, CRESWELL, UK

The caves at Creswell Crags are famous for the Middle and Late Palaeolithic artefacts and faunal materials, excavated during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The restudy of Robin Hood's Cave, one of the major 19th century excavation sites, shows a complex stratigraphy, with major episodes of sedimentation and erosion. While most sedimentation apparently derives from cold-stage conditions, pollen from near the base of the fill of the West Chamber shows a forested environment with some broadleaved species, consistent with interglacial conditions. Uranium/Thorium dating of stalagmite layers interbedded in the surviving deposits suggests an age of 165 ka for this level.