Thor's Cave
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Thor's Cave (also known as Thor's House Cavern and Thyrsis's Cave) is a natural cavern in the Manifold Valley of the White Peak in Staffordshire, England. It is classified as a Karst cave. Located in a steep limestone crag, the cave entrance, a symmetrical arch 7.5m wide and 10m high, is prominently visible from the valley bottom around 80m below. Reached by an easy stepped path from the Manifold Way, the cave is a popular tourist spot, affording excellent views over the Manifold Valley.
The origin of the name is uncertain, possibly from the word tor. Links with the Norse god Thor have been suggested but evidence is lacking.
[edit] Human use
Excavations in 1864-65 and 1927-35 found human and animal remains, stone tools, pottery, amber beads and bronze items within Thor's Cave and the adjacent Thor's Fissure Cavern. The caves are estimated to have contained the burial sites of at least seven people.[1] The finds suggest the cavern was occupied from the end of the Palaeolithic period, with more intensive use during the iron age and Roman periods.
Thor's Cave has been used by rock climbers since explorations in the early 1950s by Joe Brown and others. Eleven limestone routes are listed by the BMC, ranging in grade from Very Severe to E7, and several more have been claimed since guidebook publication; a few routes are bolted.[2]
The cave was used in the filming of The Verve's 1992 video for their single, She's a Superstar. The cave is pictured also on the front cover of the band's first album, A Storm in Heaven.
[edit] References
- ^ Chamberlain, AT, Williams, JP (2001) A Gazetteer of English Caves, Fissures and Rock Shelters Containing Human Remains. (Revised June 2001)
- ^ Browell, M. Peak Limestone - South, British Mountaineering Council, 1987 (ISBN 0-903908-26-3)