成人快手

Fresh knowledge about Britain's early inhabitants could be unearthed, if Torquay's ancient Kents Cavern caves get the go-ahead for a major dig.

Kents Cavern - a scheduled ancient monument - hopes to begin the excavation in September 2008. It would be the first dig since the 1920s, and the biggest one since 1880.

Scientists will be looking for 40,000-year-old hand-axes, from which they hope to extract DNA to prove they were used by Neanderthal man.

This would be of huge significance in informing us about our ancestors.

Kents Cavern is the oldest home in Britain

Kents Cavern is the oldest recognisable human dwelling in Britain.听Crude hand tools made of flint have been found in the caves. They were made by our very early ancestors between 300,000 and 400,000 years ago in the Lower Palaeolithic era.

The caves have the highest level of protection because of their importance, so permission for the excavation is needed from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Kents Cavern owner Nick Powe said: "You've got to have a very good reason to dig up a scheduled ancient monument, but we think it's so important to learn more about who lived here during this era."

In 1927, a fragment of jawbone of a young girl was excavated at the caves. Its significance wasn't known until recently, when scientists dated it at between 37,000 and 40,000 years old - much older than previously thought.

The jawbone unearthed in 1927

It prompted speculation that it might have been Neanderthal, and not from a modern human. However, scientists were unable to extract a DNA sample, which is why a team of archaeologists wants to do some fresh digging at the caves.

"These scientists are from the universities at Durham and Sheffield and they are the leading Stone Age scientists in the country," said Mr Powe.

"We'd like to dig up an area of the caves to look for leaf-pointed hand-axes. These are commonly associated with modern humans.

"The scientists have technology to extract DNA from hand-axes if they are in situ and haven't been touched.

"If they manage to do that, and the hand-axes turn out to be Neanderthal, then it means they were here a lot more recently than we thought and maybe co-habited with modern humans."

The dig will take place close to the exit of the caves: "There's a good reason for this," explained Mr Power.

This would be the first dig since the 1920s

"It's the area which we think probably wasn't investigated in the major excavations by William Pengelly in 1865-80. He removed 9,000 tonnes of mud and rubble which he would have taken out through the exit. So we don't think he would have searched here."

If permission is granted, a trial trench will be dug in the first week of September. The search will be part of the guided tours at Kents Cavern during that week so the public can watch. The scientists then plan to return for a follow-up dig 12 months later.

"It's very exciting," said Mr Powe. "This is one of the most important sites in Europe when it comes to ancient occupation, and it's great to see so the academic world taking such an interest in the caves."

It seems fitting that new information about our origins could come to light in 2009, as it is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, which was partly written just down the road from Kents Cavern in Torquay.