'Icon of the ice age' shows what can be found in caves

The skull of a woolly rhino dating back about 50,000 years has been put on display a few miles from where it was found.

Along with other parts of the skeleton, it was discovered in 2025 at Fairy Cave Quarry on the Mendip Hills in Somerset. Cave archaeologist Vince Simmonds said the find had helped show the public what discoveries can emerge from cave sites.

It has been put on display at the nearby Wells and Mendip Museum, where leaders have described the find as "rare" and "very unusual".

Professor Danielle Schreve, a palaeoecologist from Bristol, has been studying the item, which she described as an "icon of the Ice Age", adding that it can offer an "insight into how landscapes change".

She said researching how the woolly rhino responded to both long-term and abrupt climate change can unlock important facts about our landscape.

"[We study] why they went extinct, why some of them survive, and increasingly how we can use that evidence to support modern nature restoration initiatives today," Schreve added.

She described the woolly rhino to about the size of a modern white rhino.

"They were inhabiting an extinct ecosystem at the time, which was incredibly rich grassland.

"They had a huge metre-long blade-like horn on the front of the nose and then a shorter, more conical horn set further back on the skull," she said.

Through study, It is believed the rhino, which was about 40 years old when it died, met his end by falling into the very crevasse it was found in.

Simmonds, a cave archaeologist who lives in the Mendip Hills, was called to retrieve the skull from underground.

He said the "the object itself" is the most important part of the project.

"I know I've played a part in it, but to me the most important thing is that now the public are aware of what can be found in the cave sites and what they can tell us about past environments."

David Walker, a curator at the Wells and Mendip Museum said: "Frankly, it's absolutely incredible.

"It is a very unusual find and it's a very special thing to see and have."

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