The highway to hell possibly runs alongside Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border
What is thought to be the largest ever cluster of ‘Witches Marks’ found in the UK has been discovered in an East Midlands cave.
For the less-Goth of you, ‘Witches Marks’ – also known as ‘Apotropaic marks’ – are symbols that were scratched into cave walls in olden times, to ward off evil spirits and protect those who dwelled inside.
The staggering collection of marks were found at Creswell Crags, a limestone gorge on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border, and date back to the time when belief in witchcraft and the occult was common.
Creswell Crags is also home to the only Ice Age art known to be found in the UK.
“This discovery is significant because it looks like the largest assemblage of protective marks ever found in British caves, and possibly anywhere in Britain,” said academic and TV presenter Professor Ronald Hutton, in a message on Creswell Crag’s website.
Public tours of the caves have now been launched.
The Witch Marks were actually discovered by pure chance – they were spotted by two enthusiasts, Hayley Clark and Ed Waters, while on a tour of the caves.
“These witches’ marks were in plain sight all the time!” said John Charlesworth, Heritage Facilitator and the tour leader at the time of the discovery.
“Being present at the moment their true significance was revealed will stay with me forever. After 17-years at Creswell Crags it makes me wonder what else it has to surprise us. This remarkable place continues to give up its secrets.”
“Creswell Crags is already of international importance for its Ice Age art and ancient remains,” added Chief Executive of Historic England Duncan Wilson OBE.
” To find this huge number of protection marks from the more recent past adds a whole new layer of discovery. Even two hundred years ago the English countryside was a very different place, death and disease were everyday companions and evil forces could readily be imagined in the dark.
He added: “One can only speculate on what it was the people of Creswell feared might emerge from the underworld into these caves.”
