Afraid I can't recall the details of the GG skeleton I read about, other than that I believe it wasn't long after the end of the 2nd. World War and there was a suggestion that the person could have been a wartime spy who was thrown down the pothole after his identity was discovered. I think the police were involved in the investigation but the body was never identified and certainly wasn't "ancient".
Perhaps someone else can come up with the appropriate references for this tale because I've come across it in several histories of Gaping Gill but can't now remember where I read it.
I'd always been given to understand the skeleton in OFD was that of a travelling pedlar who had either fallen or been pushed into the open pothole which then existed, near the road and further down the hill from the current Top Entrance. The surface opening is now closed and, even if alive, the person would not have been able to climb out so would have died miserably. The "pedlar" theory was supposed to have come about because among the remains were found the small metal tags which seal the ends of laces, which would have been part of a pedlar's stock in trade. Again, this may be an apocryphal tale but I'm sure one of the SWCC historians can come up with the truth (or otherwise), of this one.
Perhaps someone else can come up with the appropriate references for this tale because I've come across it in several histories of Gaping Gill but can't now remember where I read it.
I'd always been given to understand the skeleton in OFD was that of a travelling pedlar who had either fallen or been pushed into the open pothole which then existed, near the road and further down the hill from the current Top Entrance. The surface opening is now closed and, even if alive, the person would not have been able to climb out so would have died miserably. The "pedlar" theory was supposed to have come about because among the remains were found the small metal tags which seal the ends of laces, which would have been part of a pedlar's stock in trade. Again, this may be an apocryphal tale but I'm sure one of the SWCC historians can come up with the truth (or otherwise), of this one.