Kents Cavern (also spelled Kent's Cavern) is a cave system in Torquay, Devon, England. It is notable both for its archaeological and geological features (as a karst feature in the Devonian limestone). The cave system is open to the public and has been a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest since 1952 and a Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1957.
Geology Kents Cavern was formed by erosion of rock that is part of the Torquay Limestone of Middle-Upper Devonian age, which is underlain by a unit of primarily grey mudstone, the Nordon Slate and overlain by the Gurrington Slate, a unit of purple and grey-green mudstone of Upper Devonian age, as well by much younger Permian aged New Red Sandstone. Kents Cavern probably formed during the Early Pleistocene, and has primarily been created by phreatic and secondarily by vadose processes. It consists of a complex of chambers and passageways. The cave sediment fill is probably Middle Pleistocene-Holocene age. The lowest sediment layer, the "Red Sands", is probably fluvial in origin, and likely formed during the Cromerian during the Early Middle Pleistocene. The next above layer, the "Breccia", is a diamicton deposit consisting of a red mud matrix with clasts primarily of red sandstone, siltstone, slate and quartz, as well as fragments of rocks from the cave itself like stalagmites, that are poorly sorted and generally strongly angular to moderately angular (subangular). It likely accumulated in the cave as a result of solifluction processes during the Anglian Glaciation (Marine Isotope Stage/MIS 12, ~478-424,000 years ago), though it contains fossil remains (as well as stone tools) that likely predate the Anglian glaciation. The Breccia experienced some more movement during the MIS 10 glaciation ~350,000 years ago. The upper layers of the Breccia are overlain by layers of flowstone and other calcite deposits dubbed the "Crystalline Stalagmite", with the earliest layers of flowstone forming during MIS 11 ~400,000 years ago, though there was a major pulse of calcite deposition during MIS 9, around 300,000 years ago. The Breccia subsequently experienced some erosion after MIS 9, leaving a gap known as the "Vacuity" between the Breccia and the flowstone in parts of the cave. The last major unit is the "Cave Earth" that formed during the Last Glacial Period largely during MIS 3, around 60-30,000 years ago, though some areas of Kents Cavern "Cave Earth" formed during MIS 2. The "Cave Earth" has been described as a "mixture of mud, sand and rock fragments". In the upper "Cave Earth" lies the "Black Band" a lens bed containing considerable amounts of diffusely spread charcoal as well as human artifacts. Deposition of calcite has been ongoing throughout the Holocene and is still actively occurring in parts of the cave. The uppermost layer of deposition in parts of the cave is now largely removed "Black Mould" of Holocene age, which while never properly characterised, contained "charcoal, ash, decayed organic material, leaf fall, shells" as well as Holocene human artifacts.
Prehistory
Archaeology
Archaic human including Neanderthal occupation Handaxes found in the "Breccia" layer of the cavern indicate that the area in the vicinity of the cave system was occupied during the Acheulean period of the Lower Paleolithic, no later than Marine Isotope Stage 12 (~478-424,000 years ago). A 2025 study suggesting they dated to Marine Isotope Stage 15, around 600,000 years ago, based on the relative crudeness of their manufacture and similarity to handaxes from other sites in Britain of a proposed MIS 15 age like those found at Lakenheath/Maidscross Hill, Warren Hill and Brandon Field. If correct, Kents Cavern is one of the oldest Palaeolithic localities in Britain, older than the famous Boxgrove site in Sussex. Mousterian stone tools found in the cavern during excavations in the 19th century indicate that the cave was later occupied by Neanderthals during the late Middle Paleolithic (likely sometime roughly around 60-40,000 years ago). Most of these artifacts are now lost, though 45 remain, including "five bifaces, nine scrapers, possible awls/borers, and a variety of debitage including two Levallois flakes", which are either made of flint or greensand-derived chert. Given the partial and incomplete current state of the finds, it is difficult to provide conclusive answers about how Neanderthals used the cave, though from what remains "there is little evidence of on-site manufacture, and the whole appears to be a collection of artefacts taken to the cave during a number of relatively brief visits".
Modern human occupation
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