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>Although the figure was not cross-legged, he was seated in a 'concave frame', shaped like the lotus thrones of Buddhist art. He also wore 'a conical cap', like those worn by Tibetan holy figures. In the third panel was a 'seated and bearded personage also wearing a conical cap', and advancing towards him were a procession of people 'on a wave of movement and worship'
>On the other side of the chamber, beyond the stream of running water and over the spring-head itself, was a human face in low relief. Although somewhat damaged, it was similar in style to the other two figures, with a beard and conical hat. Yet it was what she saw cut into the polished floor that most baffled Mrs Drower, for she could trace 'an oblong with twelve small round depressions, placed six a side'. She surmised that this design represented some kind of 'gaming board', which seems unlikely bearing in mind the immense sanctity of the place
>To what ancient culture did this secret cavern once belong? And what did these strange carvings of holy figures, with beards and conical hats, seated on lotus thrones, actually represent? No one knows. The only thing that can be said with any certainty is that the carvings were extremely old, and did not belong to the faith of either the Yezidi or the Magi. The clear Buddhist appearance of these serene carvings cannot be overlooked, although they are unlikely to have had any direct connection with the teachings of Buddha, the Indian prophet, who is said to have died in 543 BC. The conical hats are variations of what became known in Greek classical art as the Phrygian cap, which usually denoted a person of Anatolian or Persian origin. The earliest wearer of the Phrygian cap, or cap of Hades, was the mythical hero Perseus, who was said to have brought 'initiation and magic' to Persia and to have founded the cult of the Magi to guard over the 'sacred immortal fire'
