SCHOOLBOYS playing in a Herefordshire wood in the autumn of 1972 stumbled across a disused mine and crawled inside. What they discovered in its dark bowels sparked off fears that it was an underground temple used for black mass.

The man-made cave, hidden in the midst of Penyard Woods near Ross-on-Wye, suddenly became an attraction with a difference.

The so-called pagan temple where the devil was said to reign created much media attention and provoked counter claims that it was in truth the haunt of 'white' witches.

Terrified

Little did the boys realise what a furore they were about to create when they crawled through the narrow entrance of the old mica mine and slid down a 45-degrees slope on to its floor.

It was dark down there and the boys' excited whisperings froze in their throats when a slender shaft of light played on something shining. It was a knife with a curved blade and on it were etched signs of the zodiac.

Eyes stared in disbelief, curiosity was replaced by fear and youthful legs ensured home was reached in record time!

The visit to the mine remained simply a past adventure until January, 1973, when one of the lads related the story of the find to a group of visiting Americans.

Fascination gripped them and the youngster guided the party, armed with torches, to the Penyard hideaway. They cleared branches and leaves away from the entrance and clambered in as bats flew out.

Candles were in niches along the walls and on the floor was a large triangular stone of altar-like appearance. On this was a small, painted brass bowl containing a whitish powder.

The 'explorers' also found joss sticks and a tall, tapered brass beaker covered in strange markings. More intriguing was a yellowish-white bull's horn and a large white cloth that had on one side a picture of a goat's head.

Most of the items were taken as keepsakes by the Americans. When the story of the 'evil goings-on' reached the ears of the police all that remained as 'exhibits' were a tattered cloth, a few joss sticks and two candles.

The disappearance across the Atlantic of the mine's memorabilia denied experts the opportunity of making an informed opinion of whether the black hole was used to back the forces of good or evil.

A Hereford museum spokesman, basing his opinion on verbal descriptions of the cave's contents, declared his belief that the wood's occasional visitors were 'white' witches.

That no traces of blood were found was regarded as a good omen and he felt that the signs of the zodiac on the knife blade discounted associations with the devil.

He also claimed that if the colours painted on the small brass bowl were red, yellow, blue and green then this was likely to reflect good vibes rather than bad.

And, according to the expert, it seems that the devil rarely rides out with the poor.

Unlikely temple

He stressed that black magic was usually practised by rich people in the seclusion of their homes. They would hardly be likely to site a temple in a disused mica mine.

The story of the cave and its bizarre contents spread throughout the neighbourhood and proved to be a lure to the curious young - and this inquisitive journalist!

Forestry Commission officials decided that the mine - not used for 50 years - was a potential danger to children and agreed to take action that would render the sect, whether good or bad, 'homeless'.

An engineer packed pounds of gelignite into the rock, but the deafening explosion succeeded only in making the entrance bigger. What mischievous forces were at work?

But the Forestry Commission was not to be denied. A bulldozer shoved soil and rubble into the hole and the temple was doomed!