Shute Shelve Cavern: Exploration, History and Geomorphology (UBSS Proceedings v.19(3))

Abstract: Shute Shelve Cavern was discovered by members of the Axbridge Caving Group in March 1992. The cave was explored to a length of 262 m and a depth of 56 m. The first part of the cave had been entered by ochre miners during the early part of this century and may be the 'Lost Cave of Axbridge' rumoured to exist somewhere on Axbridge Hill. The cave is a single section of a large fossil phreatic loop which probably drained water from a catchment area in the Lox Yeo valley to the north to an ancient resurgence somewhere near Axbridge. Uranium series dating indicates the speleothems in the cave are older than 350,000 years.