Pagan temple, or more recent "folly"?

[Ben Gruagach]

I was reading the latest issue of "Fortean Times" magazine today and was intrigued by an article about a mysterious underground grotto or temple that is adorned with millions of shells, set in all sorts of Pagan symbols. It's located in Margate, Kent, UK and is open to tourists.

The shell grotto was discovered in 1837 but no one knows how old it was or who built it.

There's a website for it at http://www.shellgrotto.co.uk/

Very cool! I hope that some day someone is able to give a better idea how old it might be, who might have constructed it, and whether it was actually a Pagan temple.

[Seren_]

Purely based on the shape of the arch, I'm going with folly. Arches weren't shaped like that until after the 11th/12th century in Britain, and the style of decoration is far too modern to be pagan in the sense of pre-Christian. It would be interesting to go and see, though.

[juliaki]

A somewhat similar, but equally intriguing site is Coral Castle in Homestead, FL. I went there this year and was simply astonished by the history of the place, as well a what you could do with the place.

http://www.coralcastle.com/