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The Shell Grotto - Margate - Kent - England
The grotto was discovered in 1835 by James Newlove, who broke through into its roof while digging a duck-pond. It is is an ornate subterranean passageway in Margate, Kent.
Almost all the surface area of the walls and roof is covered in mosaics created entirely of seashells, totalling about 190 sq metres of mosaic, or 4.6 million shells.
It was illuminated by gas lamps and opened to the public in 1838, and has remained in private ownership ever since.
The Victorian gas lighting has blackened the fragile surface of the once-colourful shells, which are also under attack from water penetration. It is now illuminated by electricity.
The purpose of the structure is unknown, and various theories have dated its construction to any time in the past 3,000 years, and speculated possibilities of the builders include the Knights Templar.
The shells are all local; but some of the designs suggest associations with Phoenicia, and it has been speculated that the name of the Isle of Thanet, where Margate lies, may derive from the Phoenician goddess Tanit.
The official guide suggests a subject for many of the mosaic panels, such as a skeleton, crocodile, owl, or turtle, but the abstract nature of the designs make these suggestions rather subjective.
The age of the structure is uncertain and attempts to use radiocarbon dating to determine the age of the site have failed. Carbon deposits from Victorian lamps which were used to illuminate the grotto in the 1800s have entered the shells.
Some of the mortar has so far defied analysis and all that scientists can ascertain is that it is fish-based. Mortar analysed from the easily accessible panels has been shown to represent a variety of mixtures, all dating from post 1796.
It is a recorded fact, however, that souvenir hunters regularly removed shells from these panels in the nineteenth century and that they had to be replaced. This fact could explain certain results of these analyses.
Indeed, there is evidence for a great deal of intervention in the site: a new archway was added in the nineteenth century and certain sections (such as the so-called 'altar' panel and niche) have been dismantled and then restored since the discovery, as well as the original flooring having been removed.
The grotto is a small place, and easy to miss, in a neighbourhood that obviously has known better times. So, alas, has the grotto itself, and it is listed as an endangered structure.
At the back of the small entrance building which there is a small souvenir shop and cafe, and a modest exhibition on the history of the grotto. From there one descends a narrow stairway, and finds oneself in a passage, with a few niches decorated in shells.
Once through the new entrance a narrow S-shaped passageway leads to a chamber with a central column, and this is where one can grasp the charm of this man-made cavern.
The walls and ceiling have been covered in literally thousands of shells, in intricate patterns which look like trees, flowers, men, and more.
At the end, there is a shaft upwards, letting in the sunlight, and said to function as a solar clock/calendar. A further S-shaped passageway leads to a rectangular room, which had its vaulted ceiling and part of its wall destroyed in the World Wars.
While some have suggested it to be a hoax - even though there is no evidence of excavations at the time - there are some archaeological reports remarking on the similarities with the construction of early tin mines in the region.
Shell Grotto Margate HDby Samuel Hart
www.atlasobscura.com/places/margate-shell-grotto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Grotto,_Margate
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The Shell Grotto - Margate - Kent - England04 Luglio 2014 |
