Buckland inspects the Red Lady of Paviland
- When
- 1823
- Where
- Goat's Hole Cave; Paviland Cave
- Episodes
- 3
William Buckland, Professor of Geology at Oxford, inspected Paviland Cave in January 1823, arriving on 18 January and spending a week at Goat's Hole. He discovered a skeleton which he named the 'Red Lady of Paviland', supposing it to be a Roman-era female, possibly a local prostitute. Following Cuvier's view that humans did not coexist with extinct animals, he attributed the burial to a historical grave dug into older strata.
Episodes
- Geological Interpretation
Buckland attributed the skeleton's presence to a historical grave dug into older layers, adhering to Cuvier's view that humans did not coexist with extinct animals.
- Discovery of the Red Lady
Buckland discovered a partial skeleton dyed in red ochre, which he named the 'Red Lady' based on his mistaken assumption it was a female prostitute.
- Inspection of Paviland Cave
Buckland arrived at Goat's Hole Cave on 18 January 1823 and spent a week inspecting the site where animal bones had been previously found.
Background and detail
Background. Prior to Buckland's arrival, animal bones including a mammoth tusk were found in Paviland Cave in 1822 by Daniel Davies and Rev John Davies. The Talbot family subsequently discovered 'bones of elephants' in December 1822. Buckland arrived on 18 January 1823, spending a week at Goat's Hole, a limestone cave on the Gower Peninsula.
Misidentification. Buckland named the find the 'Red Lady' because he initially supposed the remains were those of a local prostitute. He believed the skeleton was a Roman-era female. However, the skeleton is actually an Upper Paleolithic partial male skeleton dyed in red ochre, buried approximately 34,000 years before present.
Geological Interpretation. Buckland found the skeleton in strata containing extinct mammal bones, including mammoth. Adhering to Georges Cuvier's view that humans did not coexist with extinct animals, Buckland attributed the skeleton's presence to a historical grave dug into older layers, possibly by builders of nearby pre-Roman fortifications.
People involved
- William Buckland · Geology Professor at Oxford University
- Daniel Davies · Discoverer of animal bones
- Rev John Davies · Discoverer of animal bones
- Talbot family · Discoverers of elephant bones
Sources
- William Buckland Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-08
- Red Lady of Paviland Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-07
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.