The wood used for the construction of the mysterious tunnel, according to the analysis carried out, belongs to trees felled in 1874.
Archaeologists excavating a train station in Copenhagen, Denmark have unearthed a mysterious tunnel dating back to the 1800s.
Found about 6 meters below Esterport Station, the wood-lined passage is currently being explored by scientists at the Copenhagen Museum.
- When you find such a tunnel, you ask yourself how vast these underground communication systems are and if there are other tunnels under the city that we do not know about.
So far, excavations have revealed a 4m narrow tunnel and it appears to run under the Esterport station near Estbanegade, a street that runs north of Copenhagen station.
- We don't know if it turns or where it ends. It's a secret.
The square tunnel is just over 1 meter wide and 1 meter high, which makes it very narrow, probably made for an emergency exit and not for daily use. It passes under what used to be Copenhagen's ramparts, or defensive walls, supporting the idea that it may have been used as a route of retreat.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Bishop Absalon of Roskilde fortified what would later become the capital of Denmark with ramparts and a moat in 1167. A number of armed conflicts - including the destruction of buildings during the Protestant Reformation, the two-year siege of Sweden in the 17th century and the bombing by Britain in the early 19th century - have fully justified the city's militarized appearance. However, in 1856, the defenses were demolished to allow for the expansion of the growing city center.
Promotional video:
Based on the location of the tunnel in relation to the historic fortifications, archaeologists initially assumed that it dates from the 17th century. But analysis of the wood used to build this structure showed that it was obtained from wood felled in 1874.
The construction methods of the passage are similar to those seen in tunnels dug on the Western Front of World War I, says Hannah Dahlström of the Copenhagen Museum. She notes that the relatively recent timber of the tunnel can be attributed to repairs done centuries after its original construction.