The red lady of paviland
Written by Rebecca Johnson, (MA Placement Student)
The remains of the Red Lady are undoubtedly one of the most exciting discoveries of the 19th century, not just in Wales, but in Western Europe for Upper Palaeolithic history. The Upper Palaeolithic era is considered to be around the end of the last ice age (35,000 to 10,000 years ago). Although, in comparison to today, it might not have been recognised as significant a find around 200 years ago in 1823, when William Buckland (alongside others) excavated the remains. They didn't realise how instrumental this discovery would be and play into some of our most valuable evidence for understanding ceremonial burials.
Where did it all begin?
Key figures who are often not given as much credit as they are due are: the Davies brothers, Lady Mary Cole, Lewis Dillwyn and Miss Talbot of Penrice Castle. The Davies brothers, Daniel and Rev John Davies, explored the cave in 1822, and found animal bones, which included a mammoth tusk. This would have been very exciting and opened up a world of possibilities for other enthusiasts in the area. This led to Mary Thera Talbot of Penrice Castle on the Gower, later that year, continuing the exploration of the cave to find a further amount of animal bones. It was at this point we believe that Miss Talbot, alongside Lewis Dillwyn and Lady Mary Cole, wrote to Buckland as a result of the Talbot family's connection and contact with him. This then of course led to the great discovery of the ‘Red Lady’ we know today. It's very important to note that this discovery, which is accredited to William Buckland, wouldn't have been possible without the support and initial exploration by these individuals mentioned.
So who was the Red Lady of Paviland?
By the name, you would automatically think that it was quite literally the remains of a ‘Red Lady’. However, since 1823, when it was first discovered, plenty of research and something called DNA analysis in the 20th century and in 2009 has revealed that it was a young man who was buried through ceremonial means. This is of course up to theory, as we will never know for sure the true meaning of how he was left to rest.
The most obvious question is: why is the skeleton referred to as the ‘Red Lady’?
William Buckland was under the impression that it was a Roman woman as a result of the Roman Camp discovered on the cliff above the cave. So this would explain why it's a ‘Lady’. But why Red?
Well, this comes down to the physical appearance of the skeleton. It had been found that the bones had been smeared with red ochre, which is a naturally occurring material produced by a chemical reaction. It looks a lot like rust for context.
So this is why it's called the ‘Red Lady’, and we haven't changed that name, despite the fact that we know it was a young man. This is what the skeleton was called and referred to as when discovered so it seems fitting to keep that name and remember the history of not just the skeleton, but the initial discovery which was also important.
We can assume that it was a ceremonial burial because of the various items and layout of the cave. This is primarily done through the work of key historians which compare existing burials with this one, from that period of time. Due to the remains being thought to be around 30,000 years old, it makes our research a bit more difficult because of two main factors: the lack of written information and time being a gradual deterioration of the evidence we have today. This is true of any objects and discoveries, but this is especially true with something this old! Luckily, we have a lot of experts around the subject of the ‘Red Lady’ which have pieced together a possible reason and function of these objects.
And who was William Buckland?
As mentioned before, he is our key focus for the background and discovery of the ‘Red Lady”. He’s known as the first reader of geology at Oxford University in his time. This meant that he had a high status within the academic scene, as you know Oxford University is famous for this! He is known for leading the full-scale excavation of Paviland Cave.
William Buckland is our key focus for understanding why the ‘Red Lady’ is where it is today. Interestingly, Buckland had religious preoccupations which could have affected his judgement when dating the discovery, as it wouldn't be possible from his beliefs that the age of the skeleton could exceed the time scale we believe today as the creation of the world wasn't until around 6,000 years ago. This was a common train of thought amongst many from the 19th century, which has seen a limitation in the reliability of time scales.
What is ceremonial burial?
Ceremonial burial is considered to be the act of burying an individual when they pass away in order to preserve the memory of them and follow the tradition of that community's ideas of what is expected. Like today, when an individual passes away, there are certain customs to show respect and gather with other members who know that person. There can also be religious procedures which are thought to assist with someone reaching the desired afterlife. This is especially true with the Egyptians who would bury all the items needed for the afterlife when that person supposedly makes the journey when they pass.
This could be true of this burial concerning the ‘Red Lady’ as there was a collection of objects and some ideas that it was ceremonial in nature. This would have meant that a person who was loved is buried with their precious objects as mentioned before.
It is also thought that the body would have been brought to the cave after the person's death. This means that by transporting him, he didn't naturally die in the grave and was therefore ceremonially brought to the cave to rest.
Wales’s key individuals involved
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Lady Mary Talbot
The initial excavation made of Paviland Cave is thanks to Miss Talbot of Penrice castle. It was because of her and others which did this, that William Buckland took interest in the cave the following year where he found the skeleton. It has been seen that a lot of the time, Miss Talbot is overlooked with the Red Lady as she wasn’t able to find anything personally. But it was her initiative alongside others to work with William Buckland in the later discovery which is noteworthy.
The Davies’
For a long amount of time, it's been debated about the potential relation or link between Daniel Davies and Rev John Davies. Of course, ‘Davies’ is a very common name within the area, and it has been thought that it was just coincidence with the name of both men discovering the initial finds of the cave. However, it has been of great interest to research and delve deeper into the potential familial link between these two. Upon researching, it has been found from a handful of credible sources that they are referred to as brothers. This is a detrimental discovery as it allows us to understand the initial correspondence and link between two key figures in the history of excavations at Paviland Cave. It is worth mentioning that it’s not a guarantee, but it is being seen as plausible and almost certainly true.
More key individuals involved
Stephen aldhouse-green
He was an important figure for an extensive report done on the Red Lady. It has been really useful for understanding the DNA, contents of the cave and an analysis of different materials. By using modern technology, Stephen was able to draw more conclusions and examine evidence when investigations were carried out in the cave in 1997. This has allowed people today to have a better understanding of who the Red Lady really is!
He was vital for bringing Paviland Cave into more discussion by taking part in the first modern study of it.
You can check out his work in: Paviland Cave and the ‘Red Lady’: A Definitive Report (2000).
Sollas
William Sollas, just like William Buckland, was an academic at Oxford University. In 1912, he produced a second excavation of the cave (around 90 years after the first), where he was able to produce a large amount of data about the Red Lady’s lithics being most Aurignacian. Aurignacian culture is believed to come from both Europe and Southeast Asia, its believed that it lasted from around 47,000 to 41,000 years ago! This was a really important discovery by Sollas as the time frame that Buckland originally said existed (around 6,000 years old) had been multiplied by quite a bit!
What are lithics?
Lithic is a stone that has been found to be used in prehistory. These include stone tools and weapons, and when analysed, like Sollas did, you can find out what the people who owned them would have done day-to-day or how they did tasks. Lithics are very important in archaeology!
Paviland Cave in its context
Did you know?
There were reindeers and hyenas roaming the Gower in Swansea in prehistoric times!
Hyena activity is thought to have occurred within the cave as a result of chewed rhinoceros limb bones, along with a reindeer antler.
The cave is thought to have had numerous types of activity within it, especially over a long period of time. This means that it wasn't sealed off and forgotten about when the young male was buried; but perhaps there were other people using it after and animals which welcomed themselves in.
What were these objects found with the ‘Red Lady’?
- “Aurignacian finds form the dominant element in assemblage: characterised by presence of busked burins, low frequency of Aurignacian blades, few and atypical carinated scrapers”
- “Site has yielded in excess of 60 items of bone, ivory and shell. Most likely to fall within the time span of c. 29,000-21,000 BP.”
- “Ivory pieces-> 75% are ornaments”
- “Raw materials: imported flint, drift flint, carboniferous chert, Greensand chert, mudstone and speckled and unspeckled rhyolite”
There were many objects which varied, potentially for ritualistic reasons or maybe they were personal favourites of the young man. Around 30,000 years ago they wouldn't have had an Xbox or a mobile phone to bury in a cave like most of us have today, but these items might have had the same significance and importance.
So where is it and how do it get there?
The Red Lady:
The skeletal remains are in The University of Oxford Museum in Oxford, England. The remains have been there since they were taken back to Oxford by William Buckland who was English. They are currently not on display in the museum, and instead a replica is there for the public to see. This is similar to Swansea Museum which has one too. A campaign has been ongoing in Wales for the restitution of the remains being brought back. Swansea Museum has an assortment of artefacts from the cave on display and the reunification of the Red Lady with these would be significant for Welsh history.
Paviland Cave:
It is located down towards the Gower coast in South Wales. Head towards Pilton Green and you'll have to be careful with the tide times as you can only access it when it's low. It's accessible for around an hour on either side of low water. It can be quite a dangerous path if you're not experienced with such coastal paths. By using the Wales Coast Path, you'll be able to reach it, but its important to check the weather forecast and be equipped for a steep and narrow path with difficulty walking on.
It is an extraordinary site of beauty in the area and is a truly remarkable site of history in South Wales.
