Mystery of Nottinghamshire ‘witch cave’

Hundreds of “witches’ marks” believed to date from the 17th and 18th centuries have been found in a network of caves in Nottinghamshire.

Until recently the carvings at Creswell Crags, a limestone gorge on the Derbyshire-Nottinghamshire border, were thought to be graffiti from the Victorian era.

However, “a chance encounter shortly before Halloween last year has led to a complete reevaluation of the site”, says The Daily Telegraph.

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Keen-eyed caving enthusiasts Hayley Clark and Ed Waters were taking a guided tour in October “when they spotted the distinctive shape of two ‘V’s crossed, representing the phrase ‘Virgin of Virgins’, a plea to Mary for help in times of trouble”, the newspaper reports.

Following in-depth inspections, experts now believe the markings are “the work of locals who once believed the ominous deep openings were a gateway to the underworld”, and are an “apparent attempt to keep devils, witches and other evil occupants from spilling out”, according to The Independent.

The Guardian says that the carvings represent a “remarkable frenzy” of protective symbols, adding: “Everywhere you point a torch there are overlapping Vs, a reference to Mary, virgin of virgins. There are also PMs, as in Pace Maria, and crossed Is, referring to Jesus on a cross, and odd-shaped As.”

These carvings are known as apotropaic marks, deriving from the Greek word apotrepein, meaning “to turn away”. They are “most commonly found in historic churches and houses, near entrance points like doorways, windows and fireplaces to protect inhabitants from evil spirits”, reports regional news site Nottinghamshire Live.

“These marks were either to keep something in, or to keep something out,” said Paul Baker, director at Creswell Crags Museum and Heritage Centre. “I think over a period of time this hole was blamed or associated with a series of events, illnesses or crop failures to the point in which they hoped the marks would protect them.”

Alison Fearn, a University of Leicester expert on protective marks, said: “I cannot emphasise how important this corpus of apotropaia is to graffiti research.

“I think off the top of my head, it is the largest number of examples found anywhere and in any context in the UK.”