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From Wikipedia -
Wookey Hole Caves is a show cave and tourist attraction in the village of Wookey Hole on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills near Wells in Somerset, England.

Wookey Hole cave was formed by the action of the River Axe on the limestone hills. Before emerging at Wookey Hole the water enters underground streams and passes through other caves such as Swildon's Hole and St Cuthbert's Swallet. After resurging, the waters of the River Axe are used in a handmade paper mill, the oldest extant in Britain, which began operations circa 1610, although a corn grinding mill operated there as early as 1086.

Nearby is the limestone Ebbor Gorge, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a more tranquil spot than the busy Wookey Hole, which is itself an SSSI for both biological and geological reasons.

The cave is noted for the Witch of Wookey Hole – a roughly human shaped rock outcrop, reputedly turned to stone by a monk from Glastonbury. It is also the site of the first cave dives in Britain.

The caves, at a constant temperature of 11 °C (52 °F), have been used by humans for around 50,000 years. The low temperature means that the caves can be used for maturing Cheddar cheese.

History
Wookey is a corruption of the Celtic or Old English "Ogo" or "Ogof" which gave the early names for this cave of "Ochie" "Ochy". Hole is Anglo-Saxon for cave which is itself of Latin/Norman derivation. Therefore the name can be translated as cave, cave, cave.

Wookey Hole was occupied by humans in the Iron Age, while nearby Hyena Cave was occupied by Stone Age hunters. Badger Hole and Rhinoceros Hole are two dry caves on the slopes above the Wookey ravine near the Wookey Hole resurgence and contain in situ cave sediments laid down during the Ice Age.

In 1544 products of Roman lead working in the area were discovered. The lead mines across the Mendips have produced contamination of the water emerging from the underground caverns at Wookey Hole. The lead in the water is believed to have affected the quality of the paper produced.

Cave archaeology
Archaeological investigations were undertaken from 1859 to 1874 by William Boyd Dawkins, who moved to Somerset to study classics with the vicar of Wookey. On hearing of the discovery of bones by local workmen he led excavations in the area of the hyena den. His work led to the discovery of the first evidence for the use by Palaeolithic man in the Caves of the Mendip Hills.

Herbert E. Balch continued the work from 1904 to 1914, where he led excavations of the entrance passage (1904-15), Witch's Kitchen (Chamber 1) and Hell's Ladder (1926-1927) and the Badger Hole (1938-1954), where Roman coins from the 3rd century were discovered along with Aurignacian flint implements. The 1911 work found a 4 to 7 feet (1.2–2.1 m) of stratification, mostly dating from the Iron age and sealed into place by Romano-British artifacts. Finds included a silver coin of Marcia (124BC), pottery, weapons and tools, bronze ornaments, and Roman coins from Vespasian to Valentinian II.

E. J. Mason from 1946 to 1949, and G. R. Morgan in 1972 continued the work. Books by Dawkins and Balch are now prized items amongst those with an interest in cave archaeology.

Later work led by Edgar Kingsley Tratman (1899-1978) OBE DSc MD FSA explored the human occupation of the Rhinoceros hole, and showed that the fourth chamber of the great cave was a Romano-British cemetery.

During excavations in 1954-7 at Hole Ground, just outside the entrance to the cave, the foundations of a 1st century hut and Iron Age pottery were seen. These were covered by the foundations of Roman buildings, dating from the 1st to the late 4th century.

Exploration
The cave as far as the Third Chamber and side galleries has always been known. Prior to the construction of a dam at the resurgence to feed water to the paper mill downstream, two more chambers (the Fourth & Fifth) were accessible. Further upstream the way on lay underwater.

Diving was first tried by the Cave Diving Group under the leadership of Graham Balcombe in 1935. With equipment on loan from Siebe Gorman, he and Penelope ("Mossy") Powell penetrated 170 ft (51.8 m) into the cave, reaching "Chamber 7" using standard diving dress. The events marked the first successful cave dives in Britain.

Diving at Wookey resumed in early June 1946 when Balcombe used his home-made respirator and waterproof suit to explore the region between Resurgence and First Chamber, as well as the underground course of the river between Chamber 3 and Chamber 1. During these dives, the Romano-British remains were found and archaeological work dominated the early dives in the cave. The large Ninth Chamber was first entered on 24 April 1948 by Balcombe and Don Coase. Using this as an advance dive base, the Tenth and then the Eleventh Chambers were discovered. The way on, however, was too deep for divers breathing pure oxygen from a closed-circ

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