Human remains buried over 11,000 years ago in Heaning Wood Bone Cave, Cumbria, north-west England, have been identified by researchers as those of a young girl, making her the earliest known human found that far north in Britain.
Her biological sex was discovered through DNA analysis.
Heaning Wood Bone Cave had previously been explored in 1958 and 1974, but the young girl’s remains were discovered during 2023 excavations led by local archaeologist Martin Stables.
The complete findings were published in a January 2026 study in the Cambridge University Press.
The young girl was nicknamed the “Ossick Lass,” on Stables’ suggestion, to reflect "the region and the place of discovery,” with “Ossick” after the local pronunciation of Urswick and “lass” to indicate geographical origin.
The Ossick Lass’s remains date to between 9290 and 8925 BC, placing her in the Early Mesolithic period, though the study noted that the cave served as a burial site across three distinct eras of pre-history.
She was buried with five perforated periwinkle shell beads, one of which was radiocarbon-dated to the same time period as her burial, and these are among the earliest grave goods ever found in northern Britain.
Researchers added that given their small size and fragility, the pearls found are likely only a fraction of those originally placed in the grave.
Remains of seven others found
In addition to the Ossick Lass, the remains of at least seven other individuals had also recovered from the cave, of which one also dated to have been from the Early Mesolithic period, four to the Early Neolithic period (roughly 3760–3520 BC), and two to the Early Bronze Age (around 2195–2025 BC).
According to the study, nearly all of the remains whose biological sex could be determined through DNA analysis were female, a pattern researchers are still working to understand.
Further study of the remains and their placement in the cave suggested a consistent burial practice, known as successive inhumation, across all three periods. Bodies were placed whole into the vertical entrance of the cave shortly after death and simply left, with later bodies added on top over time.
Other artifacts discovered in the cave included a leaf-shaped flint arrowhead, fragments of a polished stone axe, and sherds of Early Bronze Age pottery in the “Collared Urn” style.
All of the artifacts date to the same burial periods in the cave, the study further noted, adding that they have been donated to the Dock Museum in Barrow-in-Furness.