New medieval carvings discovered in Royston Cave (noticia y video)

Underneath 500-years-worth of dirt, new carvings were revealed today on the floor of a medieval cave. The discovery of what is thought to be burial plaques was made at the start of an investigation to restore and protect the 13th century mystical drawings in a 5,000-year-old chalk cavern 40ft below street level in Royston.

The discovery of what is thought to be burial plaques was made at the start of an investigation to restore and protect the 13th century mystical drawings in a 5,000-year-old chalk cavern 40ft below street level in Royston.

Internationally renowned conservator, Tobit Curteis, pictured, who is leading the project, made the revelation when his team began to remove the layers of grime with delicate dental tools.

The scheme to save the historical carvings associated with the Knights Templar at the Grade I listed site got under way this week after an 18-month study into why the grotto was disintegrating revealed a plague of chalk-eating worms were munching their way through the walls, as reported in the News.

The team, which include Spanish experts, Elena Naranjo, 38, and Miguel Aguilar, 44, also includes reinforcing several of the collapsing carvings, including one of the Virgin Mary, by injecting a liquid-form of chalk chemical into tiny cracks.

Mr Curteis, 45, who is also currently working on a 5,000 year old temple in Malta, said: “This is a phenomenally delicate process and we cannot afford to get it wrong which is why we are working so carefully.

“We decided to remove the layer of dirt on the floor because the worms were living in it.

“Then we revealed these carvings below it, which can’t have been seen since the cave was re-discovered in 1742.”