St. Albans Cathedral

DDW's January Challenge Day 19: "Ornate"

Admittedly I haven't gone in close enough to show how ornate this cathedral is, but you have to see it in it's entirety to appreciate the scale of the place, but trust me, from the stonework of the building itself to the intricately carved oak doors, there is plenty that is ornate about this place.

Like many buildings of its type, it has evolved over time, so you can't pinpoint a specific date when what you see now was built. That said, it is a predominantly Norman style building, so we are looking at about (1077–1093) for the major construction.

If that sounds old, the walls of Veralium, the Roman walled city that stood in this area before St Albans date back to AD 50 and in parts, still stand above head height. It never fails to fascinate me when I can get so close to the past.

What I do wonder is why these old ruins are always buried beneath layers of soil, sometimes several feet deep. That implies that once upon a time, the earth was about four feet less across in diameter. Where did all this soil come from? Will my house be buried beneath a similar layer of soil in a thousand years or so? Will the earth just keep getting bigger and bigger?

I need to lie down. Too many questions running around my head.