La Cotte de St Brelade
Encyclopedia
La Cotte de St Brelade is a Paleolithic
site of early habitation in St Brelade
, Jersey
. Cotte means "cave
" in Jèrriais
; the cave is also known as Lé Creux ès Fées.
Neandertals once lived here around 250,000 years ago - the earliest record we have of the occupation of the Channel Islands
by an intelligent species.
At that time, with sea levels slightly below those at present, Jersey was part of Normandy
, a peninsula jutting out from the coast. It was not until after the last Ice Age
that the sea eroded the coastline, separating first Guernsey
, then Jersey and finally the Ecréhous
from the mainland.
Robert R. Marett
(1866 - 1943) worked on the palaeolithic site from 1910 - 1914, recovering some hominid teeth and other remains of habitation by Neanderthal man. He published "The Site, Fauna, and Industry of La Cotte de St. Brelade, Jersey" (Archaeologia LXVII, 1916).
In 1911, Arthur Smith Woodward
(director of the geology department at the British Museum of Natural History) was asked by R.R. Marrett to inspected the findings at La Cotte. At the time, Woodward was engaged in the archaeological discovery of "Piltdown man
", which later became notorious as a hoax, and he used a comparison of findings at La Cotte to argue for an early dating of his Piltdown material.
The Cambridge University excavations of the 1960s and 1970s found important examples of remains of Pleistocene
mammals carried into La Cotte, including a pile of bones and teeth of woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros. Prince Charles
took part (as a student) in these excavations, directed by Professor C.M.B. McBurney, which were later published.
Katharine Scott, in 1980, published an article on the hunting methods used by Neanderthals at La Cotte in which she explains how they stampeded and drove the mammoth
s off the nearby cliffs.
In 2010 excavations were renewed at La Cotte by a multi-disciplinary team from British Institutions including UCL
, The British Museum the University of Southampton and University of Wales Trinity Saint Davids. These on-going excavations revealed new archaeological levels at the site.
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
site of early habitation in St Brelade
Saint Brélade, Jersey
Saint Brélade is one of the twelve parishes of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Its population is around 9,560, and it occupies the southwestern part of the island. It is the only parish to border only one other parish, St. Peter...
, Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. Cotte means "cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
" in Jèrriais
Jèrriais
Jèrriais is the form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, off the coast of France. It has been in decline over the past century as English has increasingly become the language of education, commerce and administration...
; the cave is also known as Lé Creux ès Fées.
Neandertals once lived here around 250,000 years ago - the earliest record we have of the occupation of the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
by an intelligent species.
At that time, with sea levels slightly below those at present, Jersey was part of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, a peninsula jutting out from the coast. It was not until after the last Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
that the sea eroded the coastline, separating first Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
, then Jersey and finally the Ecréhous
Écréhous
The Écréhous are a group of islands and rocks situated six miles north-east of Jersey . They form part of the Bailiwick of Jersey and are administratively part of the Parish of St...
from the mainland.
Timeline
Excavations have taken place from around 1910 onwards.Robert R. Marett
Robert Ranulph Marett
Robert Ranulph Marett was a British ethnologist from Jersey.Exponent of the British evolutionary school, he dealt with religious ethnology. In this field he modified the evolutionary scale of religion fixed by E. B. Tylor, which placed animism in the first place...
(1866 - 1943) worked on the palaeolithic site from 1910 - 1914, recovering some hominid teeth and other remains of habitation by Neanderthal man. He published "The Site, Fauna, and Industry of La Cotte de St. Brelade, Jersey" (Archaeologia LXVII, 1916).
In 1911, Arthur Smith Woodward
Arthur Smith Woodward
Sir Arthur Smith Woodward was an English palaeontologist.-Biography:Woodward was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England and was educated there and at Owens College, Manchester. He joined the staff of the Department of Geology at the Natural History Museum in 1882. He became assistant Keeper of...
(director of the geology department at the British Museum of Natural History) was asked by R.R. Marrett to inspected the findings at La Cotte. At the time, Woodward was engaged in the archaeological discovery of "Piltdown man
Piltdown Man
The Piltdown Man was a hoax in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human. These fragments consisted of parts of a skull and jawbone, said to have been collected in 1912 from a gravel pit at Piltdown, East Sussex, England...
", which later became notorious as a hoax, and he used a comparison of findings at La Cotte to argue for an early dating of his Piltdown material.
The Cambridge University excavations of the 1960s and 1970s found important examples of remains of Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
mammals carried into La Cotte, including a pile of bones and teeth of woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros. Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
took part (as a student) in these excavations, directed by Professor C.M.B. McBurney, which were later published.
Katharine Scott, in 1980, published an article on the hunting methods used by Neanderthals at La Cotte in which she explains how they stampeded and drove the mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
s off the nearby cliffs.
In 2010 excavations were renewed at La Cotte by a multi-disciplinary team from British Institutions including UCL
UCL
UCL may refer to refer to:In education:* University College London, a public research university in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London* Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve and Brussels, Belgium...
, The British Museum the University of Southampton and University of Wales Trinity Saint Davids. These on-going excavations revealed new archaeological levels at the site.
Sources
- Balleine's History of Jersey
- The Mystery of the Cave, Sonia Hilsdon
- The Grisly Folk, H.G. Wells
- "La Cotte de St. Brelade 1961 - 1978: Excavations by C.B.M. McBurney." (Geo Books, Norwich).
- "Two hunting episodes of Middle Paleolithic Age at La Cotte Saint-Brelade, Jersey (Channel Islands)" (World Archeology 12:137-152. )
- "Prehistory and the Beginnings of Civilization. Volume: 1". by Jacquetta HawkesJacquetta HawkesJacquetta Hawkes was a British archaeologist.Born Jessie Jacquetta Hopkins, the daughter of Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, she married first Christopher Hawkes, then an Assistant Keeper at the British Museum, in 1933. From 1953, she was married to J. B. Priestley...
- author, Leonard WoolleyLeonard WoolleySir Charles Leonard Woolley was a British archaeologist best known for his excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia...
- author. (1963), p140. - "Making fire in the Stone Age: flint and pyrite" published in "Geologie en Mijnbouw" ,1999, vol. 78, no. 2, pp. 147-164(18) by Stapert D[1].; Johansen L.[2] / [1]Groningen Institute of Archaeology, Poststraat 6, 9712 ER Groningen, the Netherlands [2]Institut for Arkæologi og Etnologi, Vandkunsten 5, 1167 København K, Denmark