A small group of members of the Craven Potholing Club have made a fascinating discovery from 80,000 years ago.

They had been digging by hand in the new C-Chamber at Stump Cross Caverns for just over a year in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, close to Pateley Bridge, Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Since they began their work in 2025, they have moved an incredible 75 tonnes of material in just one year, and there are still over 200 tonnes left to dig. They hope to open for visitors in 2028.

Recently, one of the members made an amazing discovery: a prehistoric Wolverine jaw that is believed to be around 80-90,000 years old. 

This extraordinary find gives us valuable information about the Ice Age animals that once lived in the Yorkshire Dales.

The specimen will be carefully preserved and studied by palaeontologists, and visitors to Stump Cross Caverns will get a chance to learn about this fascinating discovery during their cave or fossil dig experience.

In the picture, you can see Caver Rowan Worsman, a member of the Craven Potholing Club, who found this incredible piece of a Wolverine jaw that is estimated to be around 80-90,000 years old. February 9, 2026.

Similar to today's wolverines, these creatures had strong, heavy jaws that could crush bones and rip through frozen meat.

They were expert hunters in the cold, high-altitude areas.

Although some ancient mustelids from the Pliocene period, like Megalictis, were huge (weighing more than 100 kg), the Ice Age Gulo gulo (the modern type) was quite like the ones we see today, just with a few differences in their teeth.