That airflow caught their attention.
It suggested the cave was connected to other openings somewhere deeper inside the mountain.
They continued.
Their footsteps echoed strangely.
Water dripped from the ceiling.
At one point, an explorer noticed scratches on a rock wall.
They appeared too regular to have been caused by natural erosion.
Farther along, another member of the team discovered a short section of old rope.
The fibers were worn and coated with mineral deposits, but the rope seemed to have been tied deliberately around a stone projection.
Someone had been there before.
As the team descended farther, they began noticing other unexpected details.
A flattened area of ground.
Several stacked stones.
A fragment of cloth caught beneath a rock.
Then they reached a chamber with a relatively even floor.
At first, everything looked ordinary.
There were pale limestone formations along the walls and a narrow channel through which water had once flowed.
