| Royston Cave |
Underneath the streets of Royston, below the ancient Icknield way lies a secret cave, rediscovered in 1702 and dating back perhaps a thousand years. The cave, which is a bell shaped hole carved from the solid chalk, has a multitude of early Christian carvings depicting saints and religious scenes. St Lawrence is depicted at his martyrdom being roasted on a grill, St Catherine is depicted being broken on a wheel for her beliefs, along with other scenes of the crucifixion, swords and horses.
There is speculation how old the carvings are and who carved them, but there is no conclusive proof. The cave may have been the retreat for a hermit hundreds of years ago, legend also suggests the carvings were made by the Knights Templars.
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| Map ref: TL 35 40 |
| Directions:Royston is reached from the A10 or the A505, the cave is open during the summer season. |
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| The Devils Dyke, Wheathampstead |
Two giant earthworks named the Devil's Dyke and the Slad, enclose and area of around 40 hectares to the South of St Albans. The area was excavated in 1932 by Sir Mortimer Wheeler, and the ditch was found to have had an original depth of nearly thirteen metres making it a huge undertaking.
It may date back around 40BC when the area was occupied by the Cauvellauni tribe ruled by King Cassivellaunus. The tribe was defeated by Julius Caesar in 54BC and there is speculation that the defeat was at this spot.
The earthwork was probably named the Devil's because of the old folk belief that the Devil created some of the huge earthworks of the past. The term Grim's ditches relates to a similar belief by the Anglo Saxons.
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| Map ref: TL 184 135 |
| Directions: To the South of the B653, East of Wheathampstead. |
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