Cave

Name: "cave" or "grotto" or "vault"

Location
Found in a rock face behind low-lying brush or trees. Located somewhere inland where the forest becomes more dense.

The Purpose
The purpose was an additional place of defence. It also acted as a place of alternative storage where Crusoe could place a portion of his weapons and gun powder. Crusoe believed that the savages would not be able to find it because of its hidden nature. He also believed that if they did come across it, they would likely not enter it because it was very dark -while standing at the entrance it is nearly impossible to know what lies within it.

Size and Scale
Crusoe describes it as being not very big -about 12 feet across and about 6 feet tall in the first cavity. There is a passage that is at the back of the first cavity leading to an additional "vault" that is said by Crusoe to be "almost ten yards." It is presumably around 3 feet high because Crusoe is forced to go on his hands and knees in order to pass through it. The final cavity or "storage space" has a 20 foot ceiling. There is no mention of the horizontal dimensions, but he seems to quite like it and describes it as an ideal storage space. One could assume it is a comfortable space -possibly the size of a bedroom? The following image shows the cave as described by Crusoe:



How it is Made
Crusoe states that it is made entirely by natural causes: "no hands have ever been employed in making it but those of mere nature." As a result it is natural looking and is somewhat round/square. He states that unlike other caves the walls are not moist making it even more ideal and he also mentions that there is "small loose gravel" which covers the "flat floor" of the final cavity.

Timeline
Shaped over hundreds or thousands of years. It will last as long as nature allows it to.

Narrative Summary:
One of the most primitive forms of habitation and burial which date back to some of the first humans to ever inhabit the earth.