Not being much of a caveman my heart sank when I saw the Wombeyan cave shot chosen as this week's feature.
However the local flea
market came to my rescue when I found this postcard.
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| Solomon's Temple, Gough's Cave, Cheddar Gorge |
Cheddar Gorge in Somerset is famous for its caves; it's a spectacular place to visit and is a favourite for those hardy souls who spend their time rock climbing
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| Rift Cave |
There can’t be much
doubt how that cave’s name came about.
A number of the caves
have great shows of stalactites and stalagmites.
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| Cox's Cave showing stalactites and stalagmites |
Some 40,000 years ago
the inhabitants were said to have practised cannibalism, yet 200 years ago the
Gorge was little known and the track to it had been abandoned following tales of
ghostly attacks by beings from the hillside.
Modern ghost busters
who spent the night at Cox's Mill nearby reported light anomalies, a sudden feeling
of sickness and a face that appeared from the wood panelling around the
fireplace.
However if it’s spooks
you want, then the place to be in Somerset is undoubted the caves at Wookey
Hole.
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| Wookey Hole Cave and underground river |
Human remains, pottery
and crude jewellery have provided evidence that the caves were inhabited by
Stone Age hunters.
The caves have been formed by millions of years of erosion
by the River Axe. Many stalactites and stalagmites have been left behind. One
large stalagmite is said to be the Witch of Wookey, turned to stone for her
evil deeds.
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| The Witch of Wookey |
Supposedly, the witch
lived in the caves with a goat and its kid as her familiars; crossed in love
she cast spells on the Wookey villagers. A monk sent to the cave by the Abbot
of Glastonbury sprinkled her with holy water. She turned to stone where she
stands today on the bank of the Axe in Wookey’s Great Cave.
In 1912 excavations in
the caves discovered the bones of a Romano-British woman with, nearby, the
bones of a goat and kid, a comb, a dagger and a round stalagmite like a witch’s
crystal ball. The relics are on show in the Wells and Mendip Museum.
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| Skeleton labelled the Witch of Wookey (Wells and Mendip Museum |
My trips underground
have been restricted to the Tube and to old copper mines at Alderley Edge in
Cheshire – not haunted, I’m pleased to say.
If you fancy yourself
as a speleologist then cross over and follow the links at Sepia-saturday-183.
Photo Attributions:
- Rift Cave - Nov 1967 by John Reston - Geograph Project Collection, CC BY-SA 2,0
- Cox's Cave - Oct 2008 by Throwawayhack - CC BY-SA 3,0
- Wookey Hole Cave - April 2012 by Becks - CC BY 2.0
- Wookey Map and the Witch of Wookey - freepages-folklore. ancestry.com
- Skeleton in Wells and Mendip Museum - June 2013 by Rodw - CC BY-SA 3.0
18 comments:
Love the legend of the Witch of Wookey. Great story with corroborating evidence.
In Virginia, we have several caverns that are a major tourist draw. The best is the Luray Caverns where there is a formation that looks like 2 fried eggs. These caverns are famous for the stalacpipe organ.
No thanks Bob, visited some caves in Virginia with fantastic things to see, never did go to Cheddar. I think some of these spelunkers and cave divers are nuts. Admittedly its interested to watch on TV. Interesting pix Bob.
Even as a cured phobic I wouldn't set foot in these spooky caves. The rift is particularly spine chilling.
Plenty more mineral mines over the border in Derbyshire... Eckington/Copper, and the limestone is riddled with lead mines. It was my A level Geography project, and I am pleased to say, was my best grade !
See, now that wasn't too difficult was it. Nice post, but I felt sure you'd show the shell 'grotto' from Tresco.
Spooks, ghosts, witches....some of my favorite things. I won't be visiting those caves soon. I agree the best way to tour a cave is on TV.
Although I used to work underground for a brief period in my youth, I'm never comfortable in caves. Exploring them from the comfort of my computer is far more to my liking.
I like the postcard you found.
Poor witch. Killed by Holy Water and now bones on display for eternity. If I had thought of visiting any caves, this post cured me of that desire.
One of the great delights of blogging is being able to take a chance subject and follow it on a circuitous route to nowhere in particular - a magical mystery tour of ideas. Another of the great joys of blogging is being able to read the posts of writers (like you) who do this so well.
Wow - you've done a lot of work on this post. I liked the map best.
I was excited to hop over here once I knew you'd be touching on the spooky side of caves and things. Pleased I am too that I arrived and read all this before, setting my foot in one of those spooky caves! Lions and tigers and goats (with her kid) oh my! Fun!
I do believe that there must be a witch in that photo...but my poor eyes can't discern it...however the skeleton remains are pretty clear to me. Bet that "old? dear" has hung around haunting a bit since her bones are on display, I sure would!
My favorite is the Cox Cave photo. So much to see, imagine, and relct upon. Kind of like a doll house in a way.
Beautiful & fascinating pictures with a little spirited mystery thrown in. I like it!
I love these old stories and tales.
I googled it but I couldn't see if the bones had been dated?
Also learnt a new word today. I thought initially that you were making a joke about witches and spells until I googled "speleologist.
Some Local History I Never Knew.Thanks For Throwing Light on the darkness below our feet!
Ah-ah!!
Cool story!!
But I prefer reading about spooky characters like that then meeting them face-to-face...
I guess the monk didn't do such a great job, if the bones were found.
Typical!!
:D~
HUGZ
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