Wemyss Caves – Subterranea Britannica

Wemyss Caves

Written by Tony Radstone.

The Wemyss Caves, which are believed to have been the product of sea action some 8000-5000 years ago, are situated on the north shore of the Firth of Forth in or near to the village of East Wemyss.

The Caves are historically precious due to the high number of carvings which are inscribed on their walls. The earliest of these are thought to date to the Bronze Age, whilst the vast majority are connected with the Pictish period. The Pictish carvings constitute the earliest style of Pictish art (Class I) and are widely thought to represent the highest concentration of Picitsh cave carvings in Britain.

There were initially eleven caves in total, two of which - The Glassworks Cave and the Michael Cave - were situated on the west side of the village. Neither of these caves exists today. There are, however, six remaining caves along the coastline to the east of the village: Court Cave, Doo Cave, Well Cave, Jonathan’s Cave, Sliding Cave and Gas Works Cave.

The comprehensive 4D simulation offers a virtual walk through of each cave, highlighting carvings and providing additional detail.

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There are three caves in the cliff face at the back of Castle Green just below Macduff Castle. The middle one is the Well Cave. For hundreds of years, up until the early part of the twentieth century, the young people of East Wemyss used to celebrate Handsel Monday - the first Monday of the New Year - with a torchlight procession to this cave. There are no ancient carvings known of in the Well Cave, but many names, initials and dates from the last few hundred years (Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society)

Beyond Castle Green, you eventually come to the cave that is now called Jonathan's Cave. There are many carvings along its west wall. This fish and this dog (or wolf?) are a couple of examples. There is only one carving on the east wall - a Viking-style boat - but it is possibly the oldest known carving of a boat in Scotland (Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society)

Next you reach Sloping (or Sliding) Cave. This is a long and narrow tunnel that is a little more difficult to access than the others, but there are a couple of Pictish carvings: a double-disk on one side and, on the other, what has been described as a mirror and comb-case (Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society)

At the site of the old gasworks, you will come to the Gasworks Cave. There are no ancient carvings to be found in here, but a number of cleats (or holdfasts) have been carved which were probably used for tethering animals (Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society)

Outside Court Cave. This is the first cave you reach when walking from East Wemyss. It consists of a passageway, now bricked up at one end, and a larger chamber behind. The cave is believed to have got its name from its use as a place to hold court sessions (Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society)

There are two carvings in the passageway of Court Cave. One is a collection of cup marks that possibly date back to the Bronze Age. The other depicts a hunting scene: a human figure with an animal alongside. Some have believed it to represent the Viking god Thor (Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society)

the main chamber of Court Cave is a large frieze of mainly Pictish carvings. We can recognize them from the use of typically Pictish symbols such as the double-disk and floriated rod, both of which are combined in this carving (Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society)

The Doo Cave, also known as Doocote or Dovecote Cave, lies a little further along the coast. As the name suggests, the cave was once used to house pigeons. A large number of nesting boxes have been carved into the stone walls. There are no carvings present here, but there used to be a West Doo Cave where there were plenty to be found. A gun emplacement on the ground above during the First World War caused a collapse and - if anything does remain of them - the carvings are no longer accessible (Save Wemyss Ancient Caves Society)

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