| From the Semi-Circular Cave an archway leads into an egg-shaped cave which has a flight of thirty-two steps leading down to the bottom. The cave measures 16.5 feet (5m) from the saucer-shaped base to the top and is believed to be the deepest cave in the city. A 3 ft (90cm) high niche in the wall towards the bottom of the cave suggests that there may have been an intention to hollow out further caves. |  |
 | When the Society first entered this cave the top section of the fill contained artefacts dating from around 1850 to the present day. Evidence of a quarry tiled floor was found set across the cave to create a false floor. Below this the fill contained bottle necks and clay pipe stems dating from 1700-1725. The last 3 ft (1m) of fill contained a 2ft (60cm) tall grain storage jar inscribed GC as well as fragments of midland purple and medieval green glaze pottery sherds. |
| The purpose of this cave is unknown although it has been suggested that it was used as an ice-house. Ice houses first appeared in Britain around the middle of the seventeenth century. In the days before the invention of the refrigerator ice houses were of great importance for keeping perishable goods such as meat, fish and dairy products during the heat of the summer months. Ice was also used by the medical profession for cooling fevers. During the winter months ice would have been collected from frozen ponds, lakes or areas which had been deliberately flooded. The ice would have been cut into blocks and placed in the ice-house on top of a layer of straw. |
| The Domed Cave’s sandstone floor would allow any water produced by melting ice to soak away quickly. It was vital to ensure that water did not saturate the straw at the bottom of the ice-house as this would have negated the insulating properties of the straw causing more ice to melt. |
| Ice-houses come in many different forms however the basic construction is of a circular pit, often brick-lined, with a domed roof. The base of the pit is usually below ground to take advantage of the cooler and more stable temperatures. The ice-house itself would normally be accessed via an entrance passage which sometimes led into an ante-chamber which would be used to store fresh food. There was usually a heavy door at the entrance to the ice-house and another at the entrance to the ante-chamber. The Semi-Circular Cave could be seen as an ante-chamber but the ice-house would normally be separated from the ante-chamber by a heavy door. There is no evidence of a door frame. The artefacts recovered from the lowest part of the cave suggest that the cave might have been in existence too early to have been constructed as an ice-house. |
| Some of the items found in the Domed Cave:- |
 | A small bottle containing an orange coloured powder (c. 1860-70) |
 | A broken Hamilton bottle for aerated water (c. 1840-1850) |
 | Chemist’s bottle inscribed Woodward Chemist Nottingham. William Woodward traded from Long Row between 1853 and 1874 |