24. Exploration Party

24

Exploration Party

Josie, Tiffany, Lindsay, Geoffrey and Barney stood nearby as Robinson secured the climbing rope around the tree trunk and fastened it with a carabiner before fitting it to his belt.

‘Be careful,’ Josie said, getting a nudge in her ribs from Tiffany, who wore a wide grin. ‘What?’

‘A pound says it’s just an animal burrow,’ Tiffany said.

‘I’m going with the entrance to a secret government bunker,’ Geoffrey said.

‘A diamond mine,’ Barney said.

Lindsay just gave Josie a sympathetic smile. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing.’

Robinson fed the rope out as he walked backwards to the hole. He wore a hard hat fitted with a light, while he had changed out of his casual clothes into climbing boots and overalls.

‘Are you going to be all right?’ Josie asked, unable to help herself, despite a snigger from Tiffany.

‘No problem,’ Robinson said, then began to feed the rope out as he lowered himself into the hole.

‘You knew, didn’t you?’ Josie whispered, leaning close to her daughter.

Tiffany grinned. ‘Of course. He’s a certified caving instructor. It only took a minute or two of research to find out. Honestly, Mum, the internet would save you a lot of trouble if you figured out how to use it.’

Josie shrugged. ‘Maybe next week.’

They watched as Robinson, pausing briefly to give them a wide grin and a thumbs up, slowly abseiled down into the hole. As soon as he disappeared from view, they all craned forwards, trying to see how far he had gone down, but in truth, all they could see was the rope jerking back and forth for a few seconds before suddenly going slack.

‘Oh, God, what’s happened?’ Lindsay said.

‘Robinson!’ Josie shouted. ‘Are you all right down there?’

‘Mum, stop being so … keen .’

‘All good,’ came a faint cry. ‘Just give me a minute.’

They waited, glancing nervously at each other. The rope hung slackly into the hole, and no further sound came from inside. Josie glanced down at her feet, wondering if he was right below her, or whether he’d stepped over some hidden precipice and been lost forever.

‘Should we go and give the rope a tug?’ she suggested, after a five-minute wait that felt like three hours. ‘Perhaps he’s hurt himself.’

‘Just be patient, Mum. He’s a professional.’

‘I know, but what if he’s—’

The rope went suddenly taut, and a moment later Robinson appeared, climbing up out of the hole. Halfway out, he unclipped the rope and turned to face them.

‘Is that safe?’ Geoffrey asked.

Robinson grinned. ‘There are steps,’ he said. ‘I’m standing on them. It’s perfectly safe.’

‘Is it a mineshaft?’ offered Lindsay.

‘A sink hole?’ Tiffany said.

‘The entrance to hell?’ Barney suggested.

‘Treasure?’ Geoffrey said, although he sounded more optimistic than the others.

‘Are we going to have to close the campsite?’

Robinson lifted a hand, pointing at them one at a time. ‘No, no, I don’t think so, kind of, maybe temporarily. Josie, you’re in charge of this place. Would you like to come down and have a look? I just need to get some more gear out of the van. We’re going to need some bigger lights, plus a decent camera.’ Then, while they all stared at him, he gave them a wide grin. ‘Oh, boy. Just what have we found here? I’d brush your hair and perhaps change your clothes ready for National Geographic .’

‘What is it?’ Josie asked, as she trailed Robinson back up to the van with the others following behind, ready to help carry any equipment they needed.

‘I’m not exactly sure,’ he said. ‘I’ll need to do a little research.’ He turned to look at her. The boyish grin on his face was intoxicating. He looked like a kid who had just discovered treasure buried in his back garden. ‘Oh, what a great day it is.’

With Robinson literally humming to himself, he handed out items to each of them, then led them back to the hole.

‘We need to be very careful,’ he said, stepping over the rope and walking to the dark space below the slanting tree trunk. ‘I’ll take you all down one by one to have a look, but under no circumstances should you touch anything. Nothing at all. What we have here is … significant.’

He took Josie first. Wearing a hard hat with a light, she waited by the edge of the hole while Robinson went down to set up his lights. Then, when he re-emerged below her, he reached out a hand.

‘Careful now. It’s a little … ancient.’

His hand, even through the gloves they both wore, felt warm and strong. Josie gripped it hard as she descended into the darkness.

Robinson was right; there were steps. Just out of sight below the surface they began, lines of packed slate which over time had been covered over with earth. Narrow, barely wide enough for her to move without turning side-on, a few steps further down her headlight illuminated walls also made of stone. In places tree roots had bound or misplaced them, but as they descended deeper and deeper the invasion of vegetation became less and less. The stone walls, ancient beyond what she could perceive, looked as good as they might have done when they were built, however many years ago.

‘How far down are we?’ she asked Robinson as she came up behind him where he had paused at the bottom of the steps, stone flags underfoot.

‘Twenty feet or so,’ he said. ‘Deep enough that there’s no fear of the ground collapsing short of construction work.’ He turned to look at her. In the glow of her headlight, he looked triumphant. ‘Are you ready for this?’ he asked. ‘You get to see something like this for the first time perhaps once in your life. Are you ready?’

She nodded.

‘All right. I’ve set up a couple of lights. Remember, don’t touch anything at all. Not a thing. This place has to stay exactly as it is.’

‘Okay.’

He reached out and took her hand, leading her forwards. They followed a short earthen-floored passageway lined by stone walls that rose just enough for her to walk without stooping. Overhead, stone beams were interspersed with the flaky remains of what might once have been logs.

‘It’s a little tumbledown up ahead,’ Robinson said. ‘Part of the ceiling has collapsed. Just step over the stones.’

They moved forwards again, even slower, and Josie saw he was right: part of the ceiling had fallen in, but there was still plenty of space to pass and even though she knew they were deep underground, with Robinson to guide her, she felt no fear, only a growing sense of excitement.

Finally, he paused at an opening. Behind it was some kind of chamber. Inside, he had set up a couple of floor lights to illuminate it with a dim, orange glow.

‘Close your eyes,’ he said, taking her hand again. ‘I’ll lead you.’

She did as she was told, shuffling forwards until Robinson squeezed her hand.

‘Okay,’ he said.

She opened her eyes. She stood in a chamber that was perhaps no bigger than the small living room at her old house, but here, in this ancient place, it felt vast. The ceiling was domed, roughly hewn stones and ancient, petrified wood all woven together. The walls were stone, and the floor was bare earth, dry and dusty, covered with an inch of dust and powdery dirt.

Lining the chamber were raised stone shelves, topped by all manner of ancient artefacts, cups and bowls and utensils, weapons, other items she couldn’t even guess at. All were crude, clay or bronze, roughly made, showing signs of a long, slow decay.

A treasure trove of stunning proportions, the artefacts alone might have been enough to build a new museum, but the stone dais in the centre felt like a generational discovery. Waist-high and built of stone, atop it lay a skeleton, perhaps once dressed in ancient ceremonial clothing. Weapons by the person’s sides identified him or her as someone of great significance, a king or warrior perhaps. However, even the skeleton was nothing compared to the two skeletons that lay on lower dais to either side.

‘Is that … is that a lion?’ Josie whispered, pointing at a skull that stood beside the feet of the human skeleton, as though some ancient prehistoric beast had lain down to die at its master’s side. ‘Isn’t it a bit big?’

Robinson was nodding frantically. ‘Yes, but no,’ he said. ‘We need to make a few phone calls, but as a basic guess, it looks like we have two complete skeletons of Panthera spelaea, more commonly known as the cave or steppe lion. They were significantly bigger than the lions we know today, but lacked manes.’

‘It looks a bit … fossilised.’

Robinson was still nodding. He turned to Josie and took her hands in his, almost without realising it.

‘We’ve just stumbled upon the archaeological find of the century. These animals went extinct around thirteen-thousand years ago. And while there have been occasional bones found this far south, the presence of two perfect specimens, suggests something altogether different.’

His excitement was infectious. Josie couldn’t help but smile. ‘Humour me.’

‘They were … pets. Pets or guards, maybe, but almost certainly domesticated. Pets to a … king. A real live lion king.’