Mendip Hills lithics. Large numbers of artefacts have been found near Neolithic, Iron Age, and Bronze Age features, such as the barrows and forts around Priddy and at Dolebury Warren. The caves of Cheddar Gorge have yielded many archaeological remains, as flood waters have washed artefacts and bones into the caves and preserved them in silt. The Cheddar Man, Britain's oldest complete skeleton, was found in Gough's Cave, part of the Cheddar Complex. Within the Mendip Hills AONB, good evidence exists for 286 definite examples of round barrows, including the Priddy Nine Barrows and Ashen Hill Barrow Cemeteries. The Historic England Archive
Mendip Hills been known about since the establishment of the Mendip lead mining industry in Roman times. However, many have been discovered or explored only in the 20th century. Specialist equipment and knowledge is required to visit the vast majority of the caves, but Cheddar Gorge and Wookey Hole Caves are two show caves which are easily accessible to the public. The active Mendip Caving Group and other local caving organisations organise trips and continue to discover new caverns. The Hills conceal the largest underground river system in Britain; attempts to move from one cave to another through the underground rivers led