Karst cave.
| Location: | Fountain National Park |
| Open: | closed [2006] |
| Fee: | closed [2006] |
| Classification: |
Karst cave.
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| Light: | none |
| Dimension: | |
| Guided tours: | |
| Bibliography: | |
| Address: | |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/10/09 18:24:14 $ |
| 300 | oldest Amerindian remains. | |
| 2005 | conference about the development of the Park. |
The Fountain Cavern is the famous attraction of Anguilla, nevertheless it is not accessible to the public. The famous cave with its archaeological remains was closed to protect it, but a conservation project, which would include to develop the Fountain Cavern as the island's premier tourist attraction, has not been completed until now. The project was set out by the Anguilla Government, and the British Government had taken steps to have the cavern nominated as a World Heritage site. However, at the moment the cave is closed and there is no sign of development.
Fountain Cavern is enterd down a iron ladder into a 20m deep pit. The cave has various formations, and a beautiful cave lake. But the most impressive and internationally significant feature are Pre-Columbian archaeological remains. The Amerindian people, who lived in Anguilla for many thousand years, used the cave as a source of fresh water.
This cave was a ceremonial site, which is reason for the high number of petroglyphs found in the cave. It is the place with the most well-preserved petroglyphs in the Lesser Antilles. Some petroglyphs were identified as the Arawak god Jocahu. The top section of a 5m high stalagmite was carved into an enormous head, which is also though to depict Jocahu. Jocahu was revered as the giver of cassava, which was one of their staple crops.
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