In the clefts and caves of the limestone bedrock of Torbay, Victorian gentlemen made discoveries that changed our understanding of the universe forever. By systematically unearthing rich deposits of Ice Age animal bones – thought until then to have been washed in by the waters of Noah's flood – Willam Pengelly and his contemporaries proved that the story of humankind (and indeed of the beasts themselves) was a good deal longer than had previously been thought.

The remains of hyaenas, elephants, lions and hippopotami told a rather different tale of rising waters; one of constant climatic and environmental flux. In the ‘Cave Hunter’s’ travails – a direct challenge to the then established truth of the Old Testament – lie the seeds of our understanding of the mechanisms of climate change; a still-unfurling story. Animal bones have always whispered truths to us.

Here, within a 're-animation machine' the beasts of our Dreamtime are revived, prowling the dark mind-spaces of Cave Hunters past and present and telling a tale of the differing ways in which we have attempted to come to terms with unfathomably vast forces of nature. We have abandoned the Ark of ancient myth – but will we need another in the not-too-distant future?

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Part of eyeview - A cultural programme - working with artists and communities to offer fresh perspectives on the places and spaces that make Torbay unique.

Time 12pm to 8pm daily

Cost Free

Web https://eye-view.org.uk/extraordinary-events-listings/the-cave-hunters-and-the-truth-machine