AN ARCHEALOGIST has revealed the story which led him to uncover some of the earliest human remains ever found in northern Britain - and paid tribute to those that came before him. 

68-year-old Martin Stables excavated a human bone and a periwinkle shell bead at Heaning Wood Bone Cave in Great Urswick. 

The relics were analysed by an international team at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and radiocarbon dated to around 11,000 years old. 

Dr Rick Peterson, an archaeologist from the university, called the find 'unbelievable' as for the first time it gave clear evidence of Mesolithic burials in the north. 

Martin said: "It's amazing how quickly the news of this has reverberated around the globe, but given the importance of the finds, I’m told it was to be expected.

"What’s been revealed so far is only one aspect of the dig, albeit the major one & this is just the beginning & all we can announce so far.

"But of my many years on the dig, there’s much more I’m willing and able to tell." 

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Martin, who now lives in Adelaide, Australia, originally grew up in Great Urswick. He moved to Australia just after he finished his last dig so he could be closer to his daughter.

He worked as a builder and became friends with the landowner Peter Redshaw, who died in 2014.

The Mail: Martin paid tribute to Peter Redshaw, who owned the land until his death in 2014 and began digging in the cave for artefacts in the 1970s. With permission from his family, Martin continued Peter's work Martin paid tribute to Peter Redshaw, who owned the land until his death in 2014 and began digging in the cave for artefacts in the 1970s. With permission from his family, Martin continued Peter's work (Image: Peter Redshaw)

Martin said: "We got talking very vaguely about something - I knew he dug some of it. I asked when he was carrying on and he said when I am retiring I will do it. One or two years turned into ten turned into twenty. 

"Unfortunately, he died so it never happened. A little bit of time went by and I approached some of his family and said: 'If you want I will carry on'."

Peter first excavated the entrance of the cave in the 1970s. 

Martin continued this work during lockdowns and sent artefacts to UCLan.

He said that exploring the cave is like 'stepping into a time machine.'

Civilisations had, over thousands of years, dropped bodies and items into the caves, which had created a 'conical deposit' similar to pouring sugar onto a table, he said.

The Mail: Martin sieving through his digs, which is a laborious process to find artefacts that are millimetres in length Martin sieving through his digs, which is a laborious process to find artefacts that are millimetres in length (Image: Martin Stables)

Martin had used an electric winch to help him lift tonnes of rocks out and the shaft is now excavated to six metres down which will make further discoveries of human activity in the cave unlikely.

Incredibly he said it was 'the very last sieve' that contained the Mesolithic remains. 

Geologists from UCLan will continue to analyse the hundreds of items from ancient civilisations he found in the caves.

Martin also wished to say: "The Mail and The Westmorland Gazette are the first and only ones in the media to inquire, thus far. Therefore, I would like to thank them for taking the time and effort to contact me in Adelaide, Australia, in order to ask me about my work on the actual dig itself, which has led to this nationally significant find."