The ancient skull and jaw was discovered in the Cattedown caves near Plymouth. © Plymouth City Museum

An ancient skull and jaw discovered in the Cattedown caves near Plymouth are currently being restored at the Natural History Museum thanks to an award from the Preservation of Industrial and Scientific (PRISM) Grant Fund.

The work will focus on repairing the fragile skull and jaw originally excavated in 1886-7 from the Worth's Bone Caves in Cattedown, Plymouth, a little known site that contains remains dating to the Ice Age.

Both specimens are currently in a fragile state as the glue holding them together is deteriorating while the bone material itself is extremely brittle.

“The skull and jaw are being taken apart, the old adhesive will removed and the bone fragments stabilised,” said Jan Freedman, Assistant Keeper of Natural History at the museum. “They will then be put back together again and suitably mounted for storage, transportation and display purposes.”

Upon their return to Plymouth, the skull and jaw will be prepared for display and will feature in one of the new galleries that will open at the Museum in 2008 after it has refurbished.

The skull and jaw are being taken apart, the old adhesive will removed and the bone fragments stabilised. © Plymouth City Museum

After being excavated in 1886-7, the skull and jaw were initially donated to the Plymouth Athenaeum, before being officially placed on loan with the Museum when the theatre was bombed in 1941, and subsequently transferred to the museum’s ownership.

“Bones from the caves were rescued from the burnt rubble of the Athenaeum during the Blitz,” added Mr Freedman. “Hundreds of fragments were recovered, representing at least 11 humans. Dr Simon Underdown of Oxford Brookes University has managed to match one of the few unburnt teeth to the damaged jaw and successfully dated the assemblage.”

The material from the caves is probably the largest collection of early human remains found in the UK and, once they’re properly researched, it is hoped they will reveal a great deal about some of Western Europe’s earliest people.

The skull and jaw are being taken apart, the old adhesive will removed and the bone fragments stabilised© Plymouth City Museum

Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery holds several examples of early material of human origin from Worth's Bone Caves, including remains of deer, wolves, birds, pigs, rabbits, badgers, bison and oxen.

English Heritage have recently (June 2004) re-examined the original cave site and are proposing an extension of the ancient monument to cover a larger area. Additional rifts containing animal remains have been identified and, as a result, the whole of the site is being re-exposed and re-examined during 2007-2008.