Preacher's Cave - Eleuthera, Bahamas
Preacher's Cave
In 1647. William Sayles, and his group of Elutherian Adventurers spent two months
sailing south from Bermuda with the British King's Charter to search for new lands,
a place to practice religious freedom. Their ship hit a coral reef, foundered, and
the passengers were stranded on the northern end of the island. Sayles and his group
survived and found their way to the large cavern near the north beach. The cave,
actually a rock shelter, was used by the Europeans for religious ceremonies; thus
the name Preacher’s Cave. Prior to the British occupants, the rock shelter had been
used by the Taíno. The Taíno were a pre-Columbian indigenous group whose Bahamian
members were also known as the Lucayans.
Scanning of the entire cave produced data for archaeological research conducted
by Robert Carr of the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy. Scans of the cave’s
exterior walls were performed on an area with possible rock art dating to the earlier
Taíno period. Spatial data from a mapping grade GPS survey were combined with aerial
photographs and integrated in a GPS to provide planning for development of the site
by the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4