Inside Britain's Most Mysterious Cave [5:42]

Royston cave
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Transcript

Beneath this busy market town lies a secret chamber intentionally buried and sealed for centuries. When it was finally discovered, the local workmen were convinced they’d found a path to buried treasure. But what they actually uncovered was something far more mysterious.

Inside is a cave covered in medieval carvings, saints, symbols, kings, even protected marks. No one wrote about it, not even a hint in the records that it existed. It was only discovered when workmen moved the buried millstone above it. Beneath the stone was a vertical shaft leading down, filled with centuries of earth and debris. And that’s when the questions and theories began because a space this well hidden usually has a reason behind it. But they didn’t just hide a chamber. They might have been hiding one of the most famous relics in history.

Royston Cave is an octagonal chamber cut straight into the chalk, and every wall has something carved into it. Some figures are sharp, others worn, almost smooth. But together they create a space that feels part chapel, part shrine, and part mystery. You can see St. Catherine with a wheel and St. Lawrence with a gridiron.

There’s a crucifixion scene and a crowned figure, possibly King Richard I. And right beside the entrance, two figures riding closely together on a single horse: the universal seal of the Knights Templar. But look closer at this one. This shouldn’t be here.

This is a Sheila, a figure tied to much older pre-Christian symbolism. And it’s tied to pagan ritual. And there are protective marks carved into the chalk. The kind of medieval marks people used to ward off evil.

It’s a mixture that you don’t normally see in one place. And this strange mixture of symbols is exactly what leads many to a single controversial theory: the Knights Templar. What makes this cave even stranger is the fact that it was intentionally concealed. The chamber was filled with earth and rubble, and earth was poured down the original narrow entrance shaft, and a millstone rolled over the entrance to conceal it. And that decision to hide it is one of the biggest clues we have. One of the strongest theories is that this cave was used by the Knights Templar. They had a major presence in the area, and records prove that they traveled to Royston every week to sell produce at the same market that stood directly above this cave.

Inside is a car figure that many believe represents Jacqu de Mole, the last Templar Grandmaster. And what makes it even more interesting is some of the imagery here matches carvings found in prisons in France where the Templars were held after their arrest. But if it was used as a secret chapel after the order was dissolved, the actual sealing up in the chamber must have happened much later, as a 16th-century tuda pot was found in the backfill.

Another theory is that the cave was sealed to protect the carvings during the dissolution of the monastery. Royston was a major monastic hub at the time, and if the locals were using the cave as a chapel, there was a risk that the images would have been destroyed had it been discovered. A hidden chamber like this would also have been perfect for celebrating mass in secret during the Reformation when Catholicism was illegal. If the cave became an unsafe meeting place, backfilling it would erase the evidence.

But if it wasn’t a place for secret groups, then it may have been the home of a single lonely figure, a wayside hermit, somebody living beside the two major medieval roads above, offering prayers and blessings to travelers. And that’s supported by the carving of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, placed right next to the original cave entrance.

While the Templar theory is grounded in local records, some take it a step further, suggesting the cave wasn’t just a chapel, but a high-security vault for the most famous relic of all, the Holy Grail. Some accounts say that the Templars fleeing France took relics with them to England, and they hid the Grail in this cave as a high-security vault whilst they worked out what to do next. The support for that theory comes from the present St. Lawrence. In medieval legend, he’s the saint who protects sacred treasure, which is why he’s often called the Grail Saint.

The carvings raise as many questions as they answer. The chamber may have been carved around the time Royston’s Augustinian priory was founded in 1166, but the carvings were added later. It remains one of the most mysterious medieval spaces in Britain. And even now, we’re still trying to understand who made it and why they chose to hide it from the world.

Weekly Digest: the other GGG topics added since the previous digest ping, alpha:

Fascinating history, earth, universe. Thanks for posting ‘Civ.

And this strange mixture of symbols is exactly what leads many to a single controversial theory: the Knights Templar.

That or, like humans typically have done throughout history, they stumbled into the same cave over millennia and each successive band of cavers carved their own symbols according to the culture of the day.

Will the Oak Island boys be all over this?

It’s where the Rabbit of Caerbannog lives. He has sharp pointy teeth, he can leap about. Look at the bones!

Summon the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!

"we’re still trying to understand who made it and why they chose to hide it from the world."

Lying journalist knucklehead.

IMO-—WE NEED A SERIOUS RERUN OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR