Lafarge limestone restores Ice Age cave

Company donates crushed rock to restore archaeological site after important excavations

SCIENTISTS at the Creswell Crags limestone gorge and Ice Age cave site on the Derbyshire-Nottinghamshire border have recently completed work to extract evidence from a small cavern that has been untouched for millennia.

And to ensure the cave was restored as closely as possible to its original state, the archaeologists turned to Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK and nearby Whitwell Quarry for the supply of around 10 tonnes of crushed limestone to allow them to backfill their excavations.

The cave is of international importance as it is located underneath the famous Church Hole where Europe’s most northerly Ice Age cave art was discovered in 2003 and has not been previously excavated.

Francesca Sfoggia, from Creswell Crags, said: ‘We are very grateful to Lafarge for donating the material to us. We wanted to restore the small cave using rock as close to the original excavated material as possible and the limestone from Whitwell Quarry really fitted the bill.

‘Now that the excavations have finished, all the evidence collected is being taken away to be analysed. This cave is important because while most of the larger caverns were explored by archaeologists in Victorian times, this one has remained untouched. It will be interesting to see what we learn.’

Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK are long-time supporters of the beauty spot and tourist attraction, donating around £200,000 over the last 12 years to Creswell Heritage Trust – the body responsible for the landscape and facilities at the crags.

Michael Wheatley, quarry manager at Whitwell, said: ‘We were more than happy to help out with material to backfill the cave. Lafarge are keen to support causes close to their sites and we are proud to say we have a strong, long-standing relationship with Creswell Crags and are proud to support the important archaeological work there.’