Catherine Jablonski - Cave Of Bones
Cave of Bones utilises medium format black and white photography to explore the ancient history of the cave systems of the Yorkshire Dales. This project mainly focuses on the area surrounding Victoria Cave which was only discovered in the 19th century. Victoria Cave contained prehistoric remains of brown bears, mammoths, hyenas, and reindeer from the last ice age over 15 thousand years ago. It also holds proof of prehistoric humans residing in the cave from 12,500 BC, as well as other archaeological artefacts from a cave cult in Roman Britain to the medieval period.
A cave acts as a frozen moment in time, so familiar yet distant to the contemporary human. Caves connect the past with the present forcing us to examine what life would have been like on the fields and hills that were once cold tundras. The first written record comes around 3400 BC, meaning most of human history can only be uncovered by looking inside our ancient landscape, examining the rocks, and looking into the subterranean world below.