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Article: Caves and coves of myth and mystery.(Travel)
- Article from:
- Quadrant
- Article date:
- June 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Quadrant Magazine Company, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CAVES ARE DARKNESS and claustrophobia for some people, endless fascination for others. Although the odd blend of science and sport that is speleology originated among the limestone plateaux of southern France with the revered pioneers Martel and Casteret, the Yorkshire Ramblers were only the second group in the world to take it up seriously.
Caving in England is, however, older than this--very much older, with prehistoric remains found deep in some caves, and a large if dim literature of caves, telling of them as refuges during the Saxon invasions.
No Stone Age art galleries comparable to those of Spain and southern France have been discovered in British ...