Pictures: Medieval Cave Tunnels Revealed as Never Before

Gateway to the Underworld

Photograph by Mark Richardson, Alamy

Pictured in October, the foreboding entrance to Mortimer's Hole (bottom center), another cave passage beneath Nottingham Castle, beckons downhill from the palace itself.

Nottingham has about 500 sandstone caves, many closed to the public, Walker said. The caves date back to early Viking times in about 800 A.D.

"There are probably plenty more caves that we don't know about," added Walker, an archaeologist with Trent & Peak, a commercial archaeology firm affiliated with Nottingham University.

(Related: "'Shangri-La' Caves Yield Treasures, Skeletons.")

Published December 1, 2010

Anatomy of an Abduction

Picture courtesy Nottingham Caves Survey

Mortimer's Hole is laid bare in a recent digital reconstruction of the passage through Nottingham's Castle Rock.

The passage is named after Roger Mortimer, lover of Queen Isabella, who was the mother of the King Edward III. In 1330 the couple stayed in the royal castle, while the teenage king was forced to lodge elsewhere.

"Edward realized that Mortimer and his mother weren't going to hand over the crown without a fight," David Walker said. As legend has it, "Edward III's troops snuck into the castle [via the cave] under the dead of night, captured Mortimer, and he was later hanged."

(Also see "Hundreds of Mummies Found in Egyptian Caves.")

Published December 1, 2010

Mortimer's Macguffin?

Picture courtesy Nottingham Caves Survey

The archaeologists behind the 3-D project have extensively surveyed a secret tunnel (not pictured) that they say suggests Mortimer's Hole (detail above) was not the route into the castle that troops used to capture Roger Mortimer, after all.

The newfound tunnel, which runs from Nottingham Castle into a private garden, matches historical records of the capture. "We think it is the real Mortimer's Hole," Walker said.

(See more cave pictures.)

Published December 1, 2010

A Real Man Cave?

Photograph from photolibrary.com

Later Nottingham caves include this apparent drinking den, created under Willoughby House, an 18th-century aristocratic manor.

Complete with carved banquettes, the den is one of three chambers arranged in a cloverleaf shape—the largest of which was a wine cellar.

"Mr. Willoughby would have taken guests down there to show them his rustic caves and drink his port or whatever," Walker said. "It's a good example of architectural caves used to display wealth and status."

(Related: See pictures of the Bahamas' "blue hole" caves.)

Published December 1, 2010

Business in Front, Party in Back?

Picture courtesy Nottingham Caves Survey

"There are various tunnels that run up to Nottingham Castle that are of medieval date that have been lost and refound over the years," Walker said.

Among these are supply tunnels (pictured) that lead from adjoined buildings in Brewhouse Yard, which back up to Castle Rock. One such tunnel served as an air raid shelter in World War II.

Elsewhere in the city, the sandstone caves have been used as medieval malt kilns and tanneries, 19th-century slum dwellings, and even a bowling alley. "It had a rock-cut slot down one side where your servant could return your ball," Walker said.

Published December 1, 2010

Soft Rock

Picture courtesy Nattingham Caves Survey

David Walker, head of the Nottingham Caves Survey, surveys the base of Castle Rock, a large sandstone outcrop in the heart of the city. 

Sandstone is the key to Nottingham's unique subterranean heritage, he said. The structural stability of the rock means the caves are safe to use, yet "in parts it's soft enough that you can carve it away with your thumb, which makes it very easy indeed to cut into," the archaeologist added.

The survey's "long-term goal is to let more people find out about the caves and get them to come to Nottingham to see them for themselves."

Published December 1, 2010