Kirkdale Cave

Kirkdale Cave is a fossil site near Kirkbymoorside in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, England. Discovered by quarry workers in 1821, it contained fossilised bones of hippos, elephants, cave hyenas, cave lions, and rhinoceroses dating to the Eemian interglacial around 121,000 years ago. It is one of the northernmost sites where hippopotamus remains have been found. William Buckland analysed the cave in December 1821, determining the bones were brought by hyenas who used it as a den, and was awarded the Copley Medal in 1822 for his landmark paper.