The Wemyss Caves, which are believed to have been the product of sea action some 8000-5000 years ago, are situated on the north shore of the Firth of Forth in or near to the village of East Wemyss.

The Caves are historically precious due to the high number of carvings which are inscribed on their walls. The earliest of these are thought to date to the Bronze Age, whilst the vast majority are connected with the Pictish period. The Pictish carvings constitute the earliest style of Pictish art (Class I) and are widely thought to represent the highest concentration of Picitsh cave carvings in Britain.

There were initially eleven caves in total, two of which – The Glassworks Cave and the Michael Cave – were situated on the west side of the village. Neither of these caves exists today. There are, however, six remaining caves along the coastline to the east of the village: Court Cave, Doo Cave, Well Cave, Jonathan’s Cave, Sliding Cave and Gas Works Cave.

The Caves have featured on the popular archaeological television programme, Time Team (2004), ITV’s Off the Beaten Track (2014) and in Scottish crime author, Val McDermid’s novel A Darker Domain (2008).

All the information that is known about the caves has been gathered together and is presented on the Wemyss 4D website.