The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1904-11-19

F0N( Of the British Arenae0i0-
gical Association, but the explorations
are said to have thrown no new light
on the puzzle these wonderful excaya-
tions present to the antiquarian.
Who constructed them. in fact. no
body knows; nor for what purpose,
nor when.
Altogether there are about four
miles Of passages, varying IN height
from six feet to ten, and in width be-
tween one yard and four.
They have been cut out Of the solid
chalk, at an enormous expenditure OF
time ana labor. the walls showing
everywhere marks Of the workmen's
picks.
An even greater mystery attaches TO
the Dene Holes Of Essex and Kent,
ancient artificial cayerns in the chalk,
having deep. narrow, vertical en-
frances.
Many Of these entrances are fifty,
eighty, or even one hundred feet in
depth. and three or four feet in diam
eter. They pass straight down through
the oYerlyng sands and gravels into
the chalk beneath. in which are ex-
cavated several large and lofty cham
bers, arranged symetricalIy around
the bottom OF the shaft.
All sorts of explanations have been
advanced to account for the existence
OF Dene Holes. Some authorities say
they are merely prehistoric chalk pits
But this is obviously ridiculous. For
there is plenty Of surface chalk TO be
had in the nelghborhood without sink
ing shafts for IT,
Others assert that they were used
as places OF refuge when an invader
sailed up the Thames; but against this
may be urged the fact that the bottom
Of a Dene Hole would be about the
last place in the world in which a man
would care 10 be found BY his enemy.
Another favorite theory with some
archaeologlsts is that they constituted
the habltation of our forefathers in
days before the art OF building was
known in this county. But no trace
OF permanent habitatlon has been
found in any of them. and It is much
"a. -be feared. that any race dwelling
IN the Dene Iloles would quickly sue
l-NEmb to ague md rheumatism.
Others-hayei hazarded the theory
that Ihey weir nrisons subterranean
chapels. places OF sepuftGge, and even
silos for the/storage OF green~ ~tQdder.
But these Explanations are all :nege
Agnessworky
Two fsets about them only are GER
taia. orc IS that they are very ancient.
S>slQng ago as the reign o. HeRry ~
pOopIe ~SGew nothing OF the~raee that
~excavated rsSu, and attributed them
TO the maGic-+rfsSof the British King
Can0Deline. Anothef~js that the labor
OF constructing them nNst have been
enormous. II is estimateN that from
one single group of Dene\ Holes in
Hangnans Wood Essex, no fewer
than 10000 tons Of chalk w&e quar-
ried and raised.
kAt Trelowarren. in Cornwall. are
sonie-.xery remarkable subterranean
chambers ~sad galleries. pae original
use OF which Is 1ttlte unknown.
Some Of the galleries are more nlan
ninaasl-f~rr long, and, though high
enough inside to allow man stand
Ing upright, are approached only by
very low doorways, through which any
one desiring ingress would have 70
creep on his hands aud knees. Cham
bers and galleries alike are lined
throughout with hewn stones. many
J i-Uf which are OF immense size.
Other similar but smaller under
ground structures have also been dis
covered at Boliet and Pendeen in the
Land End district. as well as in the
parish Of ST Constantine. and at San
creed. near Penzance.
It is well known also that subter-
ranean galleries Of precisely the same
character have been found beneath
the old forts or 'raths" of ireland,
and from this circumstance some au-
thorities are inclined TO believe that
they were intended as storehouses for
reserve warlike stores, arms and pro-
visions
These Irish galleries. however. must
in nowise be confounded with the Gu
rlons beehiye-shaped underground
chambers. which are so abundant in
County Cork and elsewhere. and
which ares called by the peasants
Dane holes. because. they say. the
Danes were wont to hide in them in
olden times.
This may have been so by the way,
FOR many of these subterranean apart
ments would form excellent hiding
places: but they were certainly con-
structed originally by the Irish them
selves. at a period long anterior to
the advent Of the Danish invaders.
Probably they are allied TO the
-Plcts houses OF the Orkney Islands,
which are either chambered tumuli OF
underground dwellings, or both.
The rock "tombs" of the ancient
Eauscans are also Of this category
Men lived within them. and they also
buried their defunct relatives within
them. underneath the fioar, just as the
Innits do now. A few inches of earth
sufficed to separate the living from
the dead. In Peru. again. are simi