Halliggye Fogou, Trelowarren Estate, Cornwall May 2009

[doozer]

In the immortal words (almost) of Eddie Izzard... "nobody knows what the f*ck a fogou is..."

Well, English Heritage certainly don't and they own it. But it was mad as fruit, being on an EH site effectively in someone's backyard with no safety barriers, no guides, no lights, and some giant spiders. Lovely - more sites should be like this...

N.B. anyone wanting to visit should bring own headtorch, sturdy boots and a hairnet. And be small and like squeezes.

Condensation on the bacterial / fungal colonies:

Lovely place. Open in summer - closed in winter, due to bats.

[doozer]

DAMNIT!! Can someone please edit the title to read 2009 not 2008? I'm still a bit jetlagged from all the pasties and zider...

[doozer]

From the EH website:

Roofed and walled in stone, this complex of passages is the largest and best-preserved of several mysterious underground tunnels associated with Cornish Iron Age settlements. The purpose of such 'fogous' - a Cornish-language word meaning 'cave' - is unknown. Refuges, storage chambers or ritual shrines have all been suggested.

Now, I know from extensive experience of Time Team, that whenever anyone mentions the word 'ritual' it means they don't know what something is for...