15th century treasure discovered in secret passage of Poole’s Cavern

An exciting and historical discovery has been made at the famous Buxton limestone show cave known as Poole’s Cavern.

News broke this morning of a supposed hidden treasure trove uncovered deep

within the cavern’s remote passages over the Easter weekend.

This discovery has sparked a frenzy of excitement among the staff and regular visitors as this could be the long lost hoard of outlaw Poole.

Dave Green BCA CEO said: “This is a fantastic find for us at Poole’s Cavern and for the town.

“It will fit in perfectly with our exhibition plans and the opening of the new displays next year.”

Poole was an outlaw from Staffordshire who used the cave in the early 15th century to elude the search of his pursuers, crossing into Derbyshire, beyond their county jurisdiction.

He reportedly hid his stolen gold coins, gemstones and jewellery in the cave.

No known documentation has survived, but his legend has been passed down over the centuries and so tied to the cave that it still bears his name.

The unexplored tunnel was stumbled upon by a group of cave explorers who followed markings on the cave which had previously been thought to have been Victorian graffiti but now it is believed it is much older and dates back to the 15th century.

Robin Irwin who was leading the group said: “We were surprised by the passage as it did not appear on any of the maps or diagrams that we have.

“The passage was small and only one person was able to enter.

"It was really more of an enlarged crack in the wall.

“We also noticed that at the end of the passage there was a sign, similar to the ones we had been analysing, etched onto the rocks.”

It was clear that the floor of the passage had been disturbed and, after about an hour of digging and scraping, the group hit a wooden box.

“You can only imagine our excitement.” Robin continued.

Carrying the box back to the Visitor Centre, they debated whether to open it or to seek specialist advice. In the end, excitement won the day and the box, which was in a very fragile state, was carefully opened.

Just as the legend says, a hoard of gold coins, gemstones and jewellery lay within.

Before the fragile document could be photographed, water was accidentally spilt on it and it dissolved.

Confused, the group poured more water on it and it completely disappeared.

Concluding that it must have been made of rice paper or sugar paper, attentions turned to the gold coins.

After careful forensic analysis, biting one to check it was real gold, they turned out to be made out of chocolate.

And just to top it off, the ‘jewellery’ was seemingly made out of spun caramel, the ‘gemstones’ from candied sweets and the ‘wooden box’ out of painted sugar-paste.

Although these gems and jewels were discovered on the first day of April there is a whole host of real treasures to discover at Poole’s Cavern.

To book tickets visit poolescavern.co.uk