The Mysterious Underground Shell Grotto of Margate

In 1835, in the county of Kent in South East England, James Newlove was digging a pond when he discovered an empty space below the surface of the ground.

Upon further exploration he made a remarkable discovery, an incredible underground palace of sorts, decorated with treasures from the sea.

Now known as the Margate Shell Grotto, the 32 m long passage and large altar room are covered head-to-toe in seashell mosaic.

In all, 4.6 million shells were used to ornament around 2,000 square feet of space, arranged in decorative patterns like some kind of Neptune-meets-Marie-Antoinette fantasy suite.

Opened to the public two years after its discovery, nobody has ever been sure just how old the creation is and who was responsible for making this shrine to the sea.

Speculation over who made the cave ranges from ancient Phoenicians and Romans, to members of an 18th-century secret society to a wealthy Victorian wanting a folly, a fashionable statement at the time.