Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Saturday September 05 2015, @04:37PM   Printer-friendly
from the beware-the-balrog dept.

The BBC has an interesting piece on the recently rediscovered tunnels beneath the city of Liverpool.

The air is still. It's quiet. Occasionally, the sound of a water droplet bursting feebly onto stone echoes through the chamber. Somewhere, somehow, moisture is getting in. But for the most part, it's dry. And were it not for the smattering of electric lights, this 200-year-old tunnel beneath the streets of Liverpool would be very dark – and very lonely.

The number, depth or purpose of the tunnels is largely a mystery. Over time, they were filled with waste or used for storage and fell into history.

The patron of the tunnels, tobacco merchant Joseph Williamson, was extraordinarily secretive about their purpose. Even today, no one is sure exactly what they were used for. Nor does anyone know for sure even how many of the tunnels there are, scattered underfoot beneath the Edge Hill district of Liverpool in northwest England.

After the tunnels were rediscovered in 2001, a small group of volunteers have spent time excavating them.

Over the last 15 years teams of volunteers, digging up to twice a week, have removed more than 120 skips [dumpsters -Ed.] of waste material. They have revealed forgotten cellar systems and, in several cases, multiple levels of tunnels – some with stone steps leading down to deeper caverns. There are also some debris-filled passages branching off in odd directions; it's not clear how far they go or to where they ultimately lead.

The piece goes on to talk about the large number of items that have been found in the tunnels, the amount of work that goes into their restoration, and some theories as to why they were constructed.

Note: I'm submitting this in the hopes that some Soylentils find this as interesting as I, or in the hopes that anyone has ever seen or entered these tunnels.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Fnord666 on Saturday September 05 2015, @05:28PM

    by Fnord666 (652) on Saturday September 05 2015, @05:28PM (#232671) Homepage
    So one theory is that the tunnels were originally open quarries and that Williamson built arches over them then backfilled to reclaim the land.

    Bridson believes that before Williamson came along, these pits in the ground already existed. But it was Williamson’s idea to construct arches over them and seal them in. Properties could then be built on top of the reclaimed land – which otherwise would have been practically worthless.

    This is just one of several competing theories about the reasons behind the tunnels.

    For now, the quarry reclamation theory remains just a theory. Bridson hopes that one day he’ll find a stash of letters and documents in Williamson’s handwriting that once and for all settles the argument. “Part of me clings on to that hope,” he says. But he admits it’s not likely such a trove will ever be found.

    I'm not sure why it is so hard to prove or disprove this theory. Examine the composition and structure of the material above the arch. It's either quite different from the materials that make up the walls of the tunnel, indicating reclamation, or it is consistent with the wall material, indicating tunneling. Now as to whether the tunnels were actually for quarrying the sandstone, that's a different question.

    Bridson points out a series of markings in the sandstone that he says are indicative of quarrying. There are channels to drain rainwater away from the rock while men worked, blocks out of which sandstone could be hewn, and various niches in the walls where rigs were once likely installed to help with extracting the stone, commonly used as a building material.

    Williamson maybe have been sourcing building materials locally without having to disturb the surrounding surface. That seems a bit farfetched though.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Interesting=3, Total=3
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5