In 1835 at Tinwell, in Rutlandshire, the singular discovery was made of a large subterranean cavern supported in the centre by a stone pillar: this chamber proved on investigation to be “an oblong square extending in length to between 30 and 40 yards, and in breadth to about 8 feet. The sides are of stone, the ceiling is flat, and at one end are two doorways bricked up.”[957] About forty years ago, at Donseil in France—or rather in a field belonging to the commune of Saint Sulpice le Donseil[958]—a ploughman’s horse sank suddenly into a hole: the grotto which this accident revealed was found to have been cut out from soft grey granite in an excellent state of preservation and is thus described: “After passing through the narrow entrance, you make your way with some difficulty down a sloping gallery some 15 yards in length, to a depth beneath the surface of nearly 20 feet; this portion is in the worst condition. Then you find yourself in a circular gallery measuring about 65 feet in circumference, with the roof supported by a huge pillar, 18 feet in diameter. It is worth noticing that the walls, which are hewn out of the granite, are not vertical, but convex like an egg. At 19 feet to the left of the inclined corridor, and at an elevation of 30 inches above the level of the soil of the circular gallery, we come upon a small opening, through which it is just possible for a man to squeeze himself: it gives access to a gallery thirty-three feet long, at the bottom of which a loftier and more spacious gallery has been begun, but, apparently, not completed.”[959]
Fig. 474. PLAN OF THE GROTTO AT MARGATE.
I invite the reader to note the significance of these measurements and to compare the general design of the Donseil souterrain with the form of Fig. 474: this is the ground plan of a grotto which was accidentally discovered by some schoolboys in 1835, and exists to-day in the side of Dane Hill, Margate. Its form is very similar to the apparent design of the great two-mile Sanctuary at Avebury, see page 351, and its situation—a dene or valley on the side of a hill—coincides exactly with that of the small Candian cave-shrines dedicated to the serpent goddess. In Candia no temples have been discovered but only small and insignificant household shrines: “It is possible,” says Mr. Hall, “that the worship of the gods on a great scale was only carried out in the open air, or the palace court, or in a grave or cave not far distant. Certainly the sacred places to which pilgrimage was made and at which votive offerings were presented, were such groves, rocky gorges, and caves.”[960]
The sanctity of Cretan caves is indisputably proved by the immense number of votive offerings therein found, in many cases encrusted and preserved by stalagmites and stalactites. Among the house shrines of the Mother Goddess and her Son remain pathetic relics of the adoration paid by her worshippers: one of these saved almost intact by Sir Arthur Evans is described as a small room or cell, smaller even than the tiny chapels that dot the hills of Crete to-day—a place where one or two might pray, leave an offering and enjoy community with the divinity rudely represented on the altar ... one-third of the space was for the worshipper, another third for the gifts, the last third for the goddess.[961]
There are diminutive souterrains in Cornwall notably at St. Euny in the parish of Sancreed where the gift niches still remain intact: in many instances these “Giants Holts” are in serpentine form, and the serpentine form of the Margate Grotto is unmistakable. The Mother Goddess of Crete has been found figured with serpents in her hands and coiling round her shoulders: according to Mr. Mackenzie: “Her mysteries were performed in caves as were also the Paleolithic mysteries. In the caves there were sacred serpents, and it may be that the prophetic priestesses who entered them were serpent charmers: cave worship was of immense antiquity. The cave was evidently regarded as the door of the Underworld in which dwelt the snake-form of Mother Earth.”[962]
Fig. 475.—Ground plan of Souterrain at St. Euny’s, Sancreed, Cornwall.
It has been seen that the serpent because of sloughing its skin was the emblem of rejuvenescence, regeneration, and New Birth; it is likely that the word sanctus is radically the same as snag, meaning a short branch, and as snake, which in Anglo-Saxon was snaca: it is certain that the snake trou or snake cave was one of the most primitive sanctuaries.[963] Not only is the Margate Grotto constructed in serpentine form, but upon one of the panels of its walls is a Tree of Life, of which two of the scrolls consist of horned serpents: these are most skilfully worked in shells, and from the mouth of each serpent is emerging the triple tongue of Good Thought, Good Deed, Good Word.