About a mile beyond Squillace the line passes by a tunnel through
the promontory of Mons Moscius. At this point on the face of the
sea-cliff I was told that I should discover a grotta, one of the
caverns which some think are indicated by Cassiodorus when he speaks
of his fish-preserves. Arrived near the mouth of the tunnel I found
a signal-box, where several railway men were grouped in talk; to
them I addressed myself, and all immediately turned to offer me
guidance. We had to clamber down a rocky descent, and skirt the
waves for a few yards; when my cluster of companions had
sufficiently shown their good-will, all turned back but one, who
made a point of giving me safe conduct into the cave itself. He was
a bronzed, bright-eyed, happy-looking fellow of middle age, his
humorous intelligence appearing in a flow of gossip about things
local. We entered a narrow opening, some twelve feet high, which ran
perhaps twenty yards into the cliff. Lenormant supposes that this
was a quarry made by the original Greek colonists. If Cassiodorus
used it for the purpose mentioned, the cave must have been in direct
communication either with the sea or the river; at present, many
yards of sloping shingle divide it from the line of surf, and the
river flows far away. Movement of the shore there has of course
been, and the Pellena may have considerably changed the direction of
its outflow; our author's description being but vague, one can only
muse on probabilities and likelihoods.
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