The Dig
Located in a quarry near Swindon, we used cutting edge science to investigate the site, from laser surveys to OSL dating and sedaDNA.
DigVentures began investigating the site after two passionate fossil-hunters, Sally and Neville Hollingworth, spotted a Neanderthal hand axe along with an impressive number of mammoth remains at a Swindon quarry. Working with Historic England, Dr Keith Wilkinson of ARCA at the University of Winchester, and the site’s landowners Hills Group Quarry Products, DigVentures assembled an expert team to investigate in detail.
Over the course of two summers in 2019 and 2021, we led this fantastic research team on a very special dig to unearth more evidence from the site, including the remains of mammoths, steppe bison, and other Ice Age animals, as well as further evidence of Neanderthal activity.
The astounding preservation of the site is part of what makes it Britain’s most significant Ice Age discovery in recent years, with delicate beetle wings and fragile freshwater snail shells being recovered among the more robust remains of stone tools and mammoth bones.
We used LIDaR, aerial 3D and trench-based photogrammetry, boreholing and other mapping techniques to build up an above- and below-ground map profile of the site, and collected crucial environmental and dating evidence from the untouched sediment surrounding the bones. Experts have been consulted, specialists have flown in from across the world to examine the evidence, and one of the world’s best documentary-makers has told the story.
