Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-11-14
coNIcAL CAVE JEWELLERS.
An Extraordinary Survival from Almost
Pre- Iisfnril Times.

An Extraordinary Survival from Almost
Prehistoric Times.
Professor ]. =. $. Ster"ctt describes
in tie Century i rcgioD of Cappadocia
! Il! Wiitfi: as Ftr believes. lire jnhabl-
tants have st&H;i envc-tEwcllers faF
nearly 1000 years: Mary Of them
live in cones or stone that ll;iFc beers
left hy the washing aw?y of the SUI
rounding Garth.
.rhe height of the cones varies
create. IanGng perhaps from 90 to
300 feet. fhH fhre2ss of d!sintegra-
tlcn still continues, 7"F III many cones
the exterior wall has beef idra awaF
TO such an extent that The chalnBsrs
are laid bare. Such exposed chambers.
If they lie fairly to the sun, arc used
for drying grapes. ap:icots, and other
fruit, as ts,ay trr saf. against INVASION
by animals. Ofsen ihe cones are al
most perfect in slape. and origlnall!
MI CT them were crowned by caps Oh
lava: Which were the primal cause OF
tha cona-fhdiila.iHn. Tic caps mali
tain their position GeHdHse they form
one integral conglomcrdts nnss W!th
tie cone:
Somctinics; fhc doorway gives ell
trance direct fr5m the ground but IN
many. cones the entrance Is s.bgn ABOVE
tho ground. in which case ingfess IS
attained by means of two pirallcl rows
of holes cut at regular intervals 50
that one may climb to the door WIN
hands and feet. Sometimes there are
no visible means Uf reaching tnc eu-
trance. but this is apparetit rather thali
actual. for the process Of disintegra-
ton constantly decreases The clrcnnl.
ference of the cones. and the origlnai
ladder-hulps have disappeared. II we
enter tile doorway Of any OF these cone
dwellings. we find ourselves withir. Il
spacious chamber, about whose wallis
inches and shelves for the storage or
small household effects have been cut
into the stone. The stnlrwayS leading
to the upper stories are like wells or
round climneys. and once assembled to
nm ulurr story by means, OF ladder
holes precisely like those Which gave
access TO the front entrance. The floors
between the stories were usually thick
enough to withstand any weight that
might be put upon them, but OCCASION
allv the cXcuvatOrS miscalculateu the
thickness of the floor, with the result
of making one lofty chamber instead
Of two. / counted as many as nlne
stories in one cone, but most have only
two. three. or four stories. One can
easily count the stories from the out
side by means of the windows. Great
numbers of the coIc-dwellings are
Used today as dove-cotes.
4 due proportion of the cones were
reserved for the worship of some Sod,
whether pagan of Christian. The
Deriod TO which these belong is re-
vealed by the initiated architecture.
A cone with portico and Doric col
,umnss belongs clearly, to the. period
1
when Greek civilization was dominant. N
An iifterlor witt, pseudo do-arches belongs
MOI ne ,peees ,;in Deriod dse Sn4inse= g
,ior which initiates the characteristic
BYZANTINE church is clearly OF Chris
tian origin. though its date may he a
matter of dispute. The interior walls
of the Byzantine churches are still COW
cred with frescos. which OF course are
more or less obliterated. Among them
are found not merely portraits OF
Greek saints. each with the character
istic nimbus, but even pretentic"s
paintings embracing Il large number
of figures. Some of these paintings
are ancient in STYLE others more mod
erll.
The natives of tlis region, to :lll IN
tents and purpose are still trogioo!teS.
But if we leave out Of consideration
the fact that their dwellings are at
least partially underground, they differ
in habits and customs in no Whit from
the ordinary Turkish villagers with or
diuary, humdrum surroundings.