St Albans, Hertfordshire, January 2021
I don’t know exactly why there are scallop shells embedded in the walls close to St Albans Cathedral, but I have a couple of theories.
One is that they are there to remind us of the stunning scallop shell mosaic created by the Romans and found by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in the 1930s. It is now on display in the local museum.
The other theory is that it represents the pilgrimages that many make to St Albans. The scallop shell has long been a symbol of pilgrimage, tightly connected to the Camino de Santiago in particular. Needless to say there are many theories about this tradition too, and a strong one is that the shell is used a drinking utensil, scooping water from streams as pilgrims head to their destination.
Copyright Debbie Smyth, 5 May 2021
Posted as part of Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge
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Travel with Intent 
Won’t be long before we make a heritage open days organiser out of you!
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Oh no!!!! No spare time ever again 😉
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lol!!
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I favour the pilgrimage option too. But we may never know.
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Me too, Margaret.
Coming back with a shell used to mean you had completed the Camino, but now you can buy them online! So someone’s theory in the future may be that it marks the location of an Amazon warehouse!
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Aaaagh!
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I think pilgrimage,
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I think so too
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A wonderful choice for this week. I adore shells. 😀
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