Guest The Pom Queen Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Engineers have said they were "stunned" to unearth a 17th Century cottage, complete with a mummified cat, during a construction project in Lancashire. The cottage was discovered near Lower Black Moss reservoir in the village of Barley, in the shadow of Pendle Hill. Archaeologists brought in by United Utilities to survey the area found the building under a grass mound. Historians are now speculating that the well-preserved cottage could have belonged to one of the Pendle witches. The building contained a sealed room, with a mummified cat bricked into the wall. It is believed the cat was buried alive to protect the cottage's inhabitants from evil spirits. 'Tutankhamen's tomb' Carl Sanders, United Utilities' project manager, said: "It's not often you come across a fairytale cottage complete with witch's cat. "The building is in remarkable condition. You can walk through it and get a real sense that you're peering into the past. "Even before we discovered the building, there were lots of jokes from the lads about broomsticks and black cats. The find has really stunned us all." Simon Entwistle, an expert on the Pendle witches, said: "In terms of significance, it's like discovering Tutankhamen's tomb. "We are just a few months away from the 400th anniversary of the Pendle witch trials, and here we have an incredibly rare find, right in the heart of witching country. This could well be the famous Malkin Tower - which has been a source of speculation and rumour for centuries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Read this earlier on the BBC and thought it was lovely, hope they don't just knock it down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gothic Rose Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Thanking Thee M2M that's fascinating :notworthy: For those who may not be familiar with the story of the Pendle Witches here is a link http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/PendleWitches.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Saw this on BBC breakfast this morning. Very interesting story. They did say though that the cat was more likely to prove there wasn't any witches living there as they were to protect against such things. Fascinating though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dean berridge Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I was waiting for my mother-in-law to walk out lol:biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Ahhh religion.....Agree with us or we'll persecute you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I thought Pendle Hill was in Sydney. I guess there are a lot of places in the UK named after places in Australia! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 When I was a youngster in Bradford, (55-60 years ago) there were stories of the Pendle Hill witches. Seem to remember one "witch" called Battox-Cattox? Every time we went past Pendle Hill, we got "goose bumps" just looking at the hill. Very interesting, thank you for that. Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angphil Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 My Aunt lives on the edge of Pendle and used to take part in a run over Pendle (where people dressed up as witches), she'll love this. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Wow i would love to see that,, we spent many a Halloween up on Pendle Hill it used to be a fab night.. Cal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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