page_title: Kirkdale Cave
hierarchical_section_title: Kirkdale Cave
caption_attribution_description: English: Kirkdale Cave Upper figure looking into cave entrance this cave is popular with school field trips
context_page_description: Kirkdale Cave is a cave and fossil site located in Kirkdale near Kirkbymoorside in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, England. The cave was discovered by workmen in 1821, and was found to contain fossilized bones of a variety of mammals not currently found in Great Britain, including hippopotamus, elephant, and the remains of numerous cave hyenas. William Buckland analyzed the cave and its contents in December 1821: he determined that the bones were from the remains of animals brought into the cave by hyenas who had been using it for a den, and not a result of the Biblical flood floating animal remains in from distant lands as he had first thought. His reconstruction of an ancient ecosystem from detailed analysis of fossil evidence was admired at the time, and considered to be an example of how geo-historical research should be done.
  The cave was extended from its original length of 175 metres to 436 metres by Scarborough Caving Club in 1995. A survey was published in Descent magazine.
context_section_description: Kirkdale Cave is a cave and fossil site located in Kirkdale near Kirkbymoorside in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, England. The cave was discovered by workmen in 1821, and was found to contain fossilized bones of a variety of mammals not currently found in Great Britain, including hippopotamus (the farthest north any such remains have ever been found), elephant, and the remains of numerous cave hyenas. William Buckland analyzed the cave and its contents in December 1821: he determined that the bones were from the remains of animals brought into the cave by hyenas who had been using it for a den, and not a result of the Biblical flood floating animal remains in from distant lands as he had first thought. His reconstruction of an ancient ecosystem from detailed analysis of fossil evidence was admired at the time, and considered to be an example of how geo-historical research should be done.
  The cave was extended from its original length of 175 metres (574 ft) to 436 metres (1,430 ft) by Scarborough Caving Club in 1995. A survey was published in Descent magazine.
caption: Entrance to Kirkdale Cave
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