Hermit's Cave
The Hermit's Cave, situated on Scenic Hill on the northeastern outskirts of Griffith, New South Wales, Australia, is in fact a complex of stone structures.
Misleadingly called 'The Hermit's Cave', the site in reality comprises a complex of shelters, terraced gardens, exotic plants, water-cisterns, dry-stone walling and linking bridges, stairways and paths that stretch intermittently across more than a kilometre of the escarpment. Made single-handedly by a reclusive Italian migrant,Valeri Ricetti, these structures involved the moving of hundreds of tons of stone and earth, together with the ingenious incorporation of natural features in the landscape.
Ref: Recovering the Lost Landscape of Valeri Ricetti: The archaeology of an Individual' Bobby A Caillard, Honours Thesis 2005, University of Sydney
The site is recognised for being a rare example of an Australian hermit's domain and is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.
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