The Caves of Caiplie, Caplawchy or Caiplie Coves, known locally as ''The Coves'' are a

cave system A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea c ...

on the Fife Coastal path between Anstruther and

Crail Crail (); gd, Cathair Aile) is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The name ''C ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The caves were used by farmers to house livestock and as a

doocot A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

, around 170 CE. The caves are thought to have been abandoned since 180 CE. In the 9th century they were reputedly the site of early Christian worship.

The cave system

Chapel Cave is the largest cave in the system, it was described by

David Hay Fleming David Hay Fleming, LL.D. (1849–1931) was a Scottish historian and antiquary. Biography Fleming came from St Andrews, a university town in East Fife and was educated at Madras College secondary school. His family had a china and stoneware bus ...

in his book 'Guide to the East Neuk of Fife' as having "a lofty roof" while also noting that it "measures fully forty feet from its mouth to the pointed recess at the inner end." While the cave has been created naturally due to the waves eroding the stone, it has been made bigger by people. Caiplie Caves - geograph

History

The word 'cove' in Scots means 'cave'. The caves were all constructed by the sea eroding away the sandstone with a selection of the larger caves also being carved by the various groups of humans who have occupied the caves at various points in time.

Human occupants

The caves were first used for worship in the ninth century by

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

. In Chapel Cave there are a number of incised crosses which had been added at varying time periods. Holes had also been cut in pairs in the rock which is believed to have been used for passing ropes through. The floor of the cave was formerly clay and excavations in the nineteenth century recovered human remains beneath the floor. Harmit's Well is the easternmost of the Caves of Caiplie and it is named this because for several months just prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it was used by a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

as his dwelling, the fixing points for his door and window can still be seen embedded in the natural sandstone walls.geolococation.ws
/ref> Hermit at his cave - geograph

Views

There are views from the caves of May Island, a nature reserve that can be travelled to by boat from Anstruther, and the

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volca ...

. To the west of the caves are views to Kilrenny and Cellardyke and to the east is Crail, a small fishing village.

References

External links

{{commons category, Caves of Caiplie
sat.dundee.ac.uk
References to the Caves in book and various media.

Information about visiting the Caves.

The definitive guide to travel and tourism in Scotland. Caves of Scotland