Exhibition Objects

Welcome to Exploring Objects. Here you can explore the rich collection of objects that have been unearthed from the Creswell Heritage Area. To find an object, type in the words that best describe what you are looking for and click ‘Search’

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Pika jaw © 2000 Creswell Heritage Trust

Pika jaw

Jaw bone from Robin Hood Cave. Last Ice Age

This bone is the right jaw of a pika (Ochotona pusilla) excavated by John Campbell in 1969 from the scree deposit outside the western entrance to Robin Hood Cave. Pikas are like short-eared and short-legged rabbits. They are small (less than 15cm long) nocturnal animals, best known for gathering and storing a late summer hay crop to see them through the winter. Today, pikas are found in the steppe of western central Russia from the Volga to western Siberia. During some phases of the Pleistocene, their distribution was much larger than at present and about 10,000 years ago included the British Isles. Find spots are numerous on Mendip, Somerset, and in the Wye Valley, Hereford & Worcester. It was probably the large scree slopes along the sides of the Creswell Gorge which were attractive habitats in which to burrow and nest.

Glossary: Glacial, Habitat, Ice Age, Interglacial, Pleistocene, Scree, Sediment, Steppe