Paviland Cave on Wales' Gower Peninsula, discovered in 1823, contained the remains of a young adult male, covered with red ochre, misidentified as 'the red lady'. The richest Early Upper Palaeolithic site in Britain, its recent re-excavation, a study of previously excavated artefacts and a suite of radiocarbon dates have enabled intriguing new interpretations to be made of Paviland. Paviland Cave on the Gower Peninsula of Wales is the richest Early Upper Palaeolithic site in Britain. It came to light in 1823 when the Reverend William Buckland discovered the remains of a young adult male, covered with red ochre, in Goat's Hole Cave, Paviland. The circumstances of the burial hint at a ritual or shamanic use of the site. Ceremonially buried, with ivory ornaments and perforated sea shells, the body soon became the subject of debate, not least because the original finder of the skeleton pronounced it that of a woman, the 'Red Lady' of Paviland. The recent re-excavation of the site, a new study of previously excavated artefacts, and a suite of radiocarbon dates, have enabled reconstruction of the phases and nature of human use of the cave.
Set in the context of climatic and environmental change, this has allowed new, intriguing interpretations to be made of Paviland. The first human presence, in this case that of Neanderthals, may date back to 50,000 years ago. The presence of an anatomically modern human at Paviland c. 26,000 BP, with no trace of Neanderthal features, poses questions about the timing of the colonisation of the British Peninsula by modern humans. The issue of whether parts of Britain were either empty of human population at this time or, alternatively, served as refugia for the last surviving populations of Neanderthals is discussed. The dating evidence from Paviland suggests that the Aurignacian appeared relatively late in Britain, towards 28,000 BP, and the Britain was only infrequently visited by task groups or - more controversially - pilgrims during the climatic downturn from 27,000 BP until the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum. The project to re-evaluate the site and to re-study the artefacts began in 1996, led by Dr Stephen Aldhouse-Green of the University of Wales College, Newport, and was completed in 1999. This volume is the definitive report of that study