Bibliography

The second edition of the Mendip Cave Bibliography and Newspaper Catalogue was published in September 2005 and includes over 25,000 references from 883 AD to 2004 AD. Future updates are planned.

This massive work was produced from a large database created in 1994 which has been continually added to since that time. It is an indispensable addition to Mendip caving literature and is the largest such publication ever to appear in the British Isles dealing with a single British caving region.

Based initially on Ray Mansfield's card index of about 3,000 items it has been expanded to its current size. Non-cave specific topics have been collected together under a relevant heading, e.g. archaeology, biology, hydrology, geomorphology etc. Typeset in Times Roman font 7 point to minimise the number of pages and yet not too small to prevent easy and casual browsing.

This edition of the bibliography does not displace other bibliographies and indexes such as Mendip Bibliography Part II by Trevor Shaw [1972], the various indexes published by caving organisations [BCRA and CDG] or news information contained in Descent Magazine. Neither do the compilers claim it to be complete for there are still many caving / national magazine runs and newspapers still to be searched.

Copies are obtainable from the Mendip Cave Registry, being published as a limited edition and not available from the usual caving retail outlets.