Thirteen great Ice Age sites across Europe are hosting a variety of activities on Sunday, 18th September – and Creswell Crags is one of them!

Visitors can discover the history of the Ice Age across Europe through a combination of expert-led activities never before experienced together at Creswell Crags.

On  18th September members of the Ice Age Europe Network will celebrate the fifth edition of the international Ice Age Europe Day.  Across Europe, activities at the sites and museums, as well as digital events, will take place to highlight the shared cultural heritage.

The day at Creswell Crags will begin with three talks exploring the mammals, humans, and art of the Ice Age. The afternoon will feature a tour of Pin Hole Cave, a closer look at some of the palaeontology and archaeology objects from the period, and an array of ‘survival skills’. These include skills such as throwing spears with an atl-atl and a bow drill fire making demonstration. The day will be led by three staff members who all have extensive and varied backgrounds in Ice Age archaeology and palaeontology.

Dr Angharad Jones, curator at Creswell Crags, who will be leading one of the talks and the object show and tell, said: “Ice Age Europe Day is an exciting chance to showcase the amazing prehistory of Creswell Crags and share this with our visitors through an array of activities; we will be talking about the environmental conditions experienced by humans and other animals in Europe, before discussing human creativity through their art. Visitors can discover this with our talks and tour and then try their hand at some of the Ice Age survival skills to see how they might have fared during this time!”

Paul Baker, director of Creswell Crags, added: “It’s important for Creswell Crags to be part of the Ice Age Europe Network as there are so many connections between people and place during the Ice Age.  People were not restricted by boundaries and roamed the continent seeking places to survive changes in climate and habitat, so when we tell the story of Creswell Crags, we are telling the story of people who could have come from all over Europe.”

For in-person participants, the ticket price includes all talks and activities, plus free entry to the exhibition. The morning talks are also available online. Tickets for the day (10am to 4pm) activities on site are £20 per person. A ticket for the online talks only is free (or a small donation).  For more information and tickets visit: www.creswell-crags.org.uk/events-listings/ice-age-europe-22.

PHOTO: Creswell Crags Heritage Trust