EuroSpeleo 2016
Caverns of the Mind: Science and the Imagination in 18th Century Caves
Oral|Mr Frank Pearson

Abstract
John Hutton's 'A Tour to the Caves of the West Riding of Yorkshire' of 1781 was the first book in Britain solely dedicated to caves and caving. It is an extraordinary book as it is part tour guide, part cave guide; it includes poetry, natural history, theories on cave geomorphology and climate and concludes with a glossary of northern dialect words. Though independently published it was also in the appendix of the best selling 'A Guide to the Lakes' by Thomas West. It inspired travellers to visit the caves of Yorkshire, such as the poet, William Wordsworth, and the painter, William Westall but it also drew on the context of cave exploration from around the country, on the development of cave science and on thousands of years as the cave as the mythic underworld. It is a landmark of caving history in the UK.
More from 2016
Workshop|Mr Nigel Steel
Caves and photogrammetry
Oral|Prof Baojian Huang
Jinfo Cave and its Sediment Sequences in Jinfoshan Karst, South China
Oral|Miss Oana Chachula
The history of exploration in Șura Mare Cave (Romania)
Oral|Mr Madphil Rowsell
Recent discoveries in Sanwang Dong, China
Oral|Prof John Gunn
Caves and Karst in British Carbonate Rocks
Oral|Dr Rostam Namaghi
A brief (fictional) history of Speleomusic
Field|Mr John Webb
Field Trip: White Scar Cave - 14th August 2016
Oral|Mr Michael Ross
The Fuchslabyrinth Maze - a speleogenetic obstacle?
Oral|Mr Andy Chapman
PESH (Proyecto Espeleologico Sistema Huautla), the project in Mexico's deepest cave
Oral|Ms Erin M Lynch
Recent Exploration in Luoshui Kong, Wulong, China