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An Ice Age cavern in Devon which could hold vital untapped clues about the history of man is being used for barbecues and parties. Ashhole Cavern in Brixham, where ancient elephant and rhinoceros bones have been found, is listed as a scheduled monument by Historic England.

Rescuers resumed preparations on Tuesday for a third rescue operation deep into a cave complex in northern Thailand to free four remaining boys and their soccer coach in a race against time and monsoon weather. Four more of the boys were carried on stretchers out of the labyrinthine Tham Luang cave on the Myanmar border on Monday, bringing to eight the total number brought out so far after two rescue pushes in successive days. The head of the operation, Narongsak Osottanakorn, said rescuers had learned from experience and were two hours faster in bringing the second batch of survivors out...

Land around a mysterious cavern underneath Blackheath could soon be under investigation. Parkman's, the surveyors who investigated a six-foot-wide crater that appeared in the A2 at Blackheath Hill last April has said further checks on land stability in the area are needed. Decisions on their report were to be made by Greenwich council last night. But the council, which would apply for a grant from English Partnerships to cover the costs of the investigation, is not yet sure how much it will cost. The collapse of the A2 into chalk pits after subsoil washed away triggered traffic chaos, hundreds of...

Egypt announces discovery of 30,000 year-old skeleton Wednesday, 8 May 2002 The skeleton of a human being who lived more than 30,000 years ago has been discovered in southern Egypt by Belgian archaeologists, an Egyptian official announced. "Anthropologists have set his, or her, age to be between 30,000 and 33,000 years ago," Zahi Hawass, director of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said. It was the oldest skeleton ever found in northern Africa, Mr Hawass said. A team from the University of Leuven found the skeleton buried in a seated position facing east, with the head turned upward, the director of...