More than a Dozen Mysterious Prehistoric Tunnels in Cornwall, England, Mystify Researchers

Ancient Origins

More than a dozen tunnels have been found in Cornwall, England, that are unique in the British Isles. No one knows why Iron Age people created them. The fact that the ancients supported their tops and sides with stone, suggests that they wanted them to endure, and that they have, for about 2,400 years.

Many of the fogous, as they’re called in Cornish after their word for cave, ogo, were excavated by antiquarians who didn’t keep records, so their purpose is hard to fathom, says a BBC Travel story on the mysterious structures.

The landscape of Cornwall is covered with hundreds of ancient, stone, man-made features, including enclosures, cliff castles, roundhouses, ramparts and forts. In terms of stone monuments, the Cornwall countryside has barrows, menhirs, dolmens, cairns and of course stone circles. In addition, there are 13 inscribed stones.

The Cornish landscape is dotted with ancient megalithic structures like this Lanyon Quoit Megalith   ( public domain )

“Obviously, all of this monument building did not take place at the same time. Man has been leaving his mark on the surface of the planet for thousands of years and each civilisation has had its own method of honouring their dead and/or their deities,” says the site Cornwall in Focus.

The site says Cornwall has 74 Bronze Age structures, 80 from the Iron Age, 55 from the Neolithic and one from the Mesolithic. In addition, there are nine Roman sites and 24 post-Roman. The Mesolithic dates from 8000 to 4500 BC, so people have been occupying this southwestern peninsula of Britain for a long, long time.

About 150 generations of people worked the land there. But it’s believed the fogous date to the Iron Age, which lasted from about 700 BC to 43 AD. Though they’re unique, the fogou tunnels of Cornwall are similar to souterrains in Scotland, Ireland, Normandy and Brittany, says the BBC.

Carn Euny fogou in Cornwall ( public domain )

The fogous required considerable investment of time and resources “and no one knows why they would have done so,” says the BBC. It’s interesting to note that all 14 of the fogous have been found within the confines of prehistoric settlements.

Because the society was preliterate, there are no written records that explain the enigmatic structures.

“There are only a couple that have been excavated in modern times – and they don’t seem to be structures that really easily give up their secrets,” Susan Greaney, head properties historian of English Heritage, told the BBC.

The mystery of their construction is amplified at Halliggye Fogou, the best-preserved such tunnel in Cornwall. It measures 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) high. The 8.4 -meter-long (27.6 feet) passage narrows at its end in a tunnel 4 meters (13.124 feet) long and .75 meter (2.46 feet) tall.

Main chamber of the Halliggye Fogou ( public domain )

Another tunnel 27 meters (88.6 feet) long branches off to the left of the main chamber and gets darker the farther in one goes. There is what the BBC calls a “final creep” at the end of this passage that has stone lip upon which one could trip.

“In other words, none of it seemed designed for easy access – a characteristic that’s as emblematic of fogous as it is perplexing,” wrote the BBC’s Amanda Ruggeri.

Halliggye Fogou. One of the largest and best preserved of these fogou (curious underground passages) this one originally passed under the rampart of a defended Iron Age settlement.                   ( geograph.org.uk)

Some have speculated they were places to hide, though the lintels of many of them are visible on the surface and Ruggeri says they would be forbidding places to stay if one sought refuge.

Still others have speculated they were burial chambers. An antiquarian who entered Halliggye in 1803 wrote that it had funerary urns. But others entered by the hole he made in the roof, and all the urns are gone. No bones or ashes have been discovered in the six tunnels that modern archaeologists have examined. No remnants of grains have been found, perhaps because the soil is acidic. No ingots from mining have been discovered.

This elimination of storage, mining or burial purposes has led some to speculate that they were perhaps ceremonial or religious structures where people worshiped gods. “These were lost religions,” said archaeologist James Gossip, who led Ruggeri on a tour of Halligye fogou.

“We don’t know what people were worshiping. There’s no reason they couldn’t have had a ceremonial, spiritual purpose as well as, say, storage.”

He added that the purpose and use of the fogous probably changed over the hundreds of years they were in use.

Top image: The Halliggye Fogou ( megalithics.com)

By Mark Miller

You Never Know What You’ll Find Down the Rabbit Hole! Were the Spooky Caynton Caves a Secret Templar Sanctuary?

Ancient Origins

There is a fascinating and creepy underground sanctuary located in Shropshire, England known as the Caynton Caves. Allegedly linked to the famous Knights Templars and black magic rituals, legends say the caves date back 700 years. But finding the spooky caves isn’t the easiest of tasks. It all begins with going down the right rabbit hole…

 Although the caves are less than a meter below surface, you may not have the easiest of times if you decide to go looking for them. Michael Scott, from Birmingham, recently decided to search them out and photograph them. He told BBC News "I traipsed over a field to find it, but if you didn't know it was there you would just walk right past it.”

Entrance to the Caynton Caves/Grotto. (Richard Law/CC BY SA 2.0)

Perhaps this secret spot was chosen for a reason. One of the most popular local legends says that the sandstone caves were carved by Knights Templars looking for a place to worship without persecution.

The Templars was one of the most renowned military orders during the Middle Ages. The source of their fame came not only from their prowess on the battlefield, but also from the wealth they amassed during the Crusades. The Knights Templars were founded around 1118-1119 in Jerusalem by the French knight Hugh des Payens. Often regarded as a “secret society” the Templars have been linked to many mysteries, treasures, and important religious relics lost throughout the ages, such as the Holy Grail, Ark of the Covenant, and the Shroud of Turin.

Composite image of members of the Knights Templar (Public Domain) and a treasure pile. (CC BY SA 2.0)

But the Templars weren’t the only ones to allegedly use the Caynton Caves, Dominic Wass, an urban artist who has a workshop nearby, told UK Urban Exploration some other stories about others using (or perhaps creating) the site. These range from a landowner illegally keeping 60 slaves at the site, to an eccentric wealthy family from the 1850s thinking it would just be great fun to have such a spooky place.

 When you find the cave entrance, BBC News says that you enter a tunnel which leads you to “a network of walkways and arches carved out of sandstone, as well as a font.” Some of the areas of the cave are so cramped that you’d have to crawl on your hands and knees to pass through. The cave walls depict mystic sigils (seals), mixed with more modern graffiti.

Photos inside the Caynton Caves. (UK Urban Exploration)

 Mr. Scott described his experience inside the Caynton Caves for BBC News, saying “I had to crouch down and once I was in it was completely silent. There were a few spiders in there but that was it. It was raining so the slope down was quite sludgy but inside the cave was bone dry.”

Recent tales suggest that local cults have chosen the out-of-the-way location for black magic and other rituals. Modern (and possibly ancient?) Druids have also been connected to the Caynton Caves. UK Urban Exploration suggests that the landowners had been mostly accommodating to the sects, good or evil, if they asked permission to use the site - and took good care of it.

But some of the more sinister ceremonies, and a lack of respect for the Caynton Caves, led local residents to close up the site a few years ago. Nonetheless, wrought iron gates, barbed wire, brambles, a large mastiff, and CCTV haven’t been enough to keep some people away.

Candles and litter scattered about a passageway in the Caynton Caves. (Richard Law/CC BY SA 2.0)

 Now, the Shropshire Star say there are rumors going around that the creepy Caynton caves have been re-opened, however, this has not yet been confirmed by the landowners.

Photo inside the Caynton Caves. (UK Urban Exploration)

Top Image: Recent photos of the candle-lit Caynton Caves. Source: Shropshire Star

By Alicia McDermott

Stone Age Text Links Australia to Europe: Initial Evidence for Worldwide Travel by an Ancient Stone Age Civilization

Ancient Origins

Dr. Derek Cunningham has recently introduced a new intriguing theory to archaeology that many geometric patterns seen worldwide are a form of ancient text, with the angular writing based on the astronomical values used by astronomers to measure time and predict eclipse events. In this theory it was noted that many geometrical patterns seen throughout the archaeological record align to angles matching the circa 1 degree sidereal motion of earth as it travels around the sun; the 5.1 degree angle of the moon’s orbital plane relative to Earth, the 18.6 year lunar cycle, and the 27.32 day sidereal month.

One of his early studies was the preliminary analysis of Saksaywaman Temple in Peru, where he argued that the polygonal walls of the temple align, and also the entire temple complex were designed to align to these key astronomical values. In this theory the angular offsets are argued to be either offsets angled to either above or below the vertical or to the left and right of the horizontal; with perhaps the direction of the offset marking a vowel sound and the angle the sound of the consonant. Thus it is quite possible that the walls could have created a basic but readable text.

The polygonal walls of Saksaywaman in Peru

Arrangement of stones in a wall at Saksaywaman. Astronomical values can be found in the form of an angular array, offset to either above or below the horizontal, or the right or left of the vertical. Photo credit: Derek Cunningham

In Derek’s most recent study of this proposed angular text, he has returned with what can only be said is a well thought out study that takes direct aim at the often used counter argument that the alignments are actually totally random.
In this new test, Derek reasoned that if all geometric patterns found worldwide are entirely random, then even if within the experiment deliberate bias is shown to align the geometric image so that one particular angle dominates - in other words to force an optimum angular alignment - then because in the counter argument all lines are entirely randomly distributed, then the secondary to quaternary values should also be entirely random. In other words, only the primary value optimised should be the same.
If, however, the various geometric patterns found worldwide are as Derek claimed an ancient form of text, then perhaps the exact same secondary, tertiary and quaternary angular values should be emphasised in the various ancient images. And that is exactly what he found.
Using the 5.1 degree angle representing the moon’s orbital plane relative to Earth as a key reference point for his study, a very careful study of Australian geometric images has revealed that the secondary to quaternary angles seen most in geometric artwork does repetitively and routinely aligned to the same secondary to quaternary angular values. For the preliminary study Australia was chosen because it has remained isolated for much of its history, and thus the observed result could not be argued to be caused by potential long distance trade routes.
Derek then chose to extend this study to look at to various geometric images found in Europe. This included a comparison with the Polygonal walls found at Delphi, and an interesting analysis of the extremely archaic and unusual fan motif found carved on a tibia bone of a straight-tusked elephant at Bilzingsleben in Germany. In each case the intent was to directly compare the European secondary to quaternary angular values with those seen in ancient Australian geometrics.

Photograph showing part of the Polygonal Wall found under the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Image taken by Dr. Derek Cunningham.

 

Image of a 20,000-year-old Cylcon held in the collection of ancient writing of Martin Schøyen. Here a detailed analysis of the various lines present on the stone showed an identical angular distribution to the Polygonal Stone Wall found at Delphi 
After a careful study of the angular distribution produced by the various polygonal stones found at Delphi it was determined that the same angular preferences seen in Australia are indeed found in distant Europe. Specifically, it was found that European and Australian art both emphasised the 18.6 year lunar cycle and the 27.32 day sidereal month; and because identical primary to quaternary values were seen, the statistical analysis argues that the link between these images must date back at least 50,000 years ago. This suggests that an ancient Stone Age civilization was actively traveling the world, leaving behind postcards for us to find.
One of the more unusual visual pieces of evidence gathered in this particular study was an engraved stone found in Australia that replicates a geometrical pattern discovered in Bilzingsleben Germany. The Australian stone was discovered by Jennifer Summerville, who then passed the stone on to Derek for a more detailed analysis.

Astronomical alignments of Aboriginal engravings found on a stone in Australia

Fan-motif found on the Bilzingsleben elephant tibia bone found in Germany

As can be seen the stone creates a fan motif that is identical in structure and angular content to the more famous fan-motif that is found on the Bilzingsleben elephant tibia bone. The bone is currently dated by archaeologist John Feliks to be circa 400,000 years old.
Equally intriguing, the exact same angular values can be found in the various geometric images found in Lascaux Cave. These geometrics are at a minimum circa 13,000 years old.
The various similarities seen in the geometric artwork found in Australia and Europe have long been known. What really has been missing until now is a simple method to measure the “artistic intent” of the Stone Age artist who made these patterns.
As astronomical values are inherently numerical in nature this creates the potential to analyze mathematically ancient artwork for intent, and also to create a method that allows us to directly compare artwork that is entirely dissimilar. This is a major breakthrough in the study of the ancient past.
With this new ability to directly compare dissimilar geometrical images an entirely new experimental technique is created that for the first time ever allows us to read the drawings left behind by our very distant ancestors.
Top image: Aboriginal rock paintings that show astronomical alignments.

More than a Dozen Mysterious Prehistoric Tunnels in Cornwall, England, Mystify Researchers

Ancient Origins

More than a dozen tunnels have been found in Cornwall, England, that are unique in the British Isles. No one knows why Iron Age people created them. The fact that the ancients supported their tops and sides with stone, suggests that they wanted them to endure, and that they have, for about 2,400 years.

Many of the fogous, as they’re called in Cornish after their word for cave, ogo, were excavated by antiquarians who didn’t keep records, so their purpose is hard to fathom, says a BBC Travel story on the mysterious structures.
The landscape of Cornwall is covered with hundreds of ancient, stone, man-made features, including enclosures, cliff castles, roundhouses, ramparts and forts. In terms of stone monuments, the Cornwall countryside has barrows, menhirs, dolmens, cairns and of course stone circles. In addition, there are 13 inscribed stones.

The Cornish landscape is dotted with ancient megalithic structures like this Lanyon Quoit Megalith (public domain)

“Obviously, all of this monument building did not take place at the same time. Man has been leaving his mark on the surface of the planet for thousands of years and each civilisation has had its own method of honouring their dead and/or their deities,” says the site Cornwall in Focus.
The site says Cornwall has 74 Bronze Age structures, 80 from the Iron Age, 55 from the Neolithic and one from the Mesolithic. In addition, there are nine Roman sites and 24 post-Roman. The Mesolithic dates from 8000 to 4500 BC, so people have been occupying this southwestern peninsula of Britain for a long, long time.
About 150 generations of people worked the land there. But it’s believed the fogous date to the Iron Age, which lasted from about 700 BC to 43 AD. Though they’re unique, the fogou tunnels of Cornwall are similar to souterrains in Scotland, Ireland, Normandy and Brittany, says the BBC.

Carn Euny fogou in Cornwall (public domain)

The fogous required considerable investment of time and resources “and no one knows why they would have done so,” says the BBC. It’s interesting to note that all 14 of the fogous have been found within the confines of prehistoric settlements.
Because the society was preliterate, there are no written records that explain the enigmatic structures.
“There are only a couple that have been excavated in modern times – and they don’t seem to be structures that really easily give up their secrets,” Susan Greaney, head properties historian of English Heritage, told the BBC.
The mystery of their construction is amplified at Halliggye Fogou, the best-preserved such tunnel in Cornwall. It measures 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) high. The 8.4 -meter-long (27.6 feet) passage narrows at its end in a tunnel 4 meters (13.124 feet) long and .75 meter (2.46 feet) tall.

Main chamber of the Halliggye Fogou (public domain)

Another tunnel 27 meters (88.6 feet) long branches off to the left of the main chamber and gets darker the farther in one goes. There is what the BBC calls a “final creep” at the end of this passage that has stone lip upon which one could trip.
“In other words, none of it seemed designed for easy access – a characteristic that’s as emblematic of fogous as it is perplexing,” wrote the BBC’s Amanda Ruggeri.

Halliggye Fogou. One of the largest and best preserved of these fogou (curious underground passages) this one originally passed under the rampart of a defended Iron Age settlement. (geograph.org.uk)

Some have speculated they were places to hide, though the lintels of many of them are visible on the surface and Ruggeri says they would be forbidding places to stay if one sought refuge.
Still others have speculated they were burial chambers. An antiquarian who entered Halliggye in 1803 wrote that it had funerary urns. But others entered by the hole he made in the roof, and all the urns are gone. No bones or ashes have been discovered in the six tunnels that modern archaeologists have examined. No remnants of grains have been found, perhaps because the soil is acidic. No ingots from mining have been discovered.
This elimination of storage, mining or burial purposes has led some to speculate that they were perhaps ceremonial or religious structures where people worshiped gods.

“These were lost religions,” said archaeologist James Gossip, who led Ruggeri on a tour of Halligye fogou. “We don’t know what people were worshiping. There’s no reason they couldn’t have had a ceremonial, spiritual purpose as well as, say, storage.”

He added that the purpose and use of the fogous probably changed over the hundreds of years they were in use.
Top image: The Halliggye Fogou (megalithics.com)
By Mark Miller

Skeletons in 6,000-Year-Old Embrace Found in Cave

Rossella Lorenzi

Discovery News

 

A 6,000-year-old romance has been uncovered in a Greek cave as archaeologists unearthed the skeletons of an undisturbed Neolithic couple locked in an embrace.
Found in the Alepotrypa, or foxhole, one of the Diros caves in southern Greece, the prehistoric remains were positioned curled into the fetal position, as if spooning each other. The grave also contained broken arrowheads.
Although the pair was originally found in 2014 by a team of archaeologists and speleologists led by George Papathanassopoulos, the Greek Ministry of Culture announced the results of DNA and radio carbon tests on Thursday, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Couple Held Hands for 1,500 Years
The skeletons were dated to 3800 B.C. and DNA analysis confirmed the remains belong to a man and a woman.
“Double burials in embrace are extremely rare,” the ministry said. “The skeletons of Diros represent one of the oldest, if not the oldest, found to this date,” it added.
Discovered in 1958, the Alepotrypa Cave was used between 6000 and 3200 B.C. and served as both a settlement and a cemetery.
Around 3200 B.C., the entrance collapsed because of a severe earthquake, burying the cave inhabitants alive.
Video: The Dark Side of Valentine's Day
Excavations in recent years have yielded the remains of adults, children and even embryos.
The archaeologists also discovered a 13-foot wide crypt, paved with a unique pebble floor. The burial contained dozens of skeletons, along with pottery, beads and a dagger.
The researchers have been so far unable to establish the cause of death of the 5,800-year-old couple. But the fact that they were buried together in such a position suggests they possibly died at the same time.
Image: The 5,800-year-old couple locked in embrace. Credit: Greek Ministry of Culture.

The Wizard of Notts Recommends: The Caves of Nottingham

http://information-britain.co.uk/showPlace.cfm?Place_ID=1513

City of Caves
Upper Level
Broadmarsh Shopping Centre
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG1 7LS

Discover a hidden world beneath the streets of Nottingham.
Featuring the latest audio technology, explore this fascinating subterranean attraction.

• See the only remaining underground medieval tannery in the UK
• Take cover in the WWII air raid shelter
• Find out about Nottingham's legendary ale in the pub cellar
• Learn about the appalling living conditions in the Victorian slum

Situated beneath the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre, visitors experience over 750 years of Nottingham's history told through this unique man-made sandstone cave system.
Open: Monday - Saturday 10am-4.15pm (last admission)

Details

Nearest Train Station: Nottingham
Click here to plan and book your train journey
Nearest UK Airport: East Midlands
Tourist Info Number: 0871 572 2599
Months Open: All year
Groups/Parties Welcome: Yes - prior booking recommended
Discount for Groups: Yes - only if pre-booked
Car Parking: Yes - adjacent to shopping centre
Admission Price: Adult : £5.95
Children/Concessions : £4.50
Family : £16.50
We also offer a joint ticket with the Galleries of Justice Museum
Gift Shop: Yes