I Live In The UK Is There Anyone Else
I love history and traveling to places of interest. All around me there are things to see. This is the resting place of King Arthur or so they[image deleted] say
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
bhatjc · 46-50, M
Their has to be a cave under that mound.
1-25 of 26
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@bhatjc
I'm not sure of Glastonbury Tor's geology, but I think it's at least partly limestone.
While that's a good start, it also needs concentrated drainage for a long time for caves to develop with in it, as on the Mendip Hills only a few miles to the North. This hill lacks that because it's an isolated feature left as surrounding land was eroded away.
So whilst there may be remnants of (geologically) old cave passages in it, I don't think it very likely - and I am afraid they are even less likely to have romantic connections with a king whose own existence is much more myth than reality.
I'm not sure of Glastonbury Tor's geology, but I think it's at least partly limestone.
While that's a good start, it also needs concentrated drainage for a long time for caves to develop with in it, as on the Mendip Hills only a few miles to the North. This hill lacks that because it's an isolated feature left as surrounding land was eroded away.
So whilst there may be remnants of (geologically) old cave passages in it, I don't think it very likely - and I am afraid they are even less likely to have romantic connections with a king whose own existence is much more myth than reality.
bhatjc · 46-50, M
in their story line their was a deep underground gave system.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@bhatjc
There were. Among other coals it yielded Welsh Steam Coal - recognised as among the world's best as conventional boiler fuel. There is still coal down there, and some is open-cast mined, but no-one thinks the deep mines will ever be re-opened.
There are also major (natural) caves in South Wales, in limestone older than the Coal Measures so below them in strata, but outcropping in places along a strip North of the former mining valleys to allow cave development.
The coal-field was also expressed much nearer to Glastonbury too, in an area South of Bristol and Bath.
There were. Among other coals it yielded Welsh Steam Coal - recognised as among the world's best as conventional boiler fuel. There is still coal down there, and some is open-cast mined, but no-one thinks the deep mines will ever be re-opened.
There are also major (natural) caves in South Wales, in limestone older than the Coal Measures so below them in strata, but outcropping in places along a strip North of the former mining valleys to allow cave development.
The coal-field was also expressed much nearer to Glastonbury too, in an area South of Bristol and Bath.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@bhatjc
Really? I'm surprised at that. Do you know which ones?
I thought all the known ones have been surveyed as far as they have been explored, though I don't know if the cavers in S. Wales have any plans to re-survey any of them to better standards of accuracy.
(Obviously a cave can only be surveyed after it has been found, but the question then is whether that mapping has been carried out. Usually it very soon after discovery, and sometimes as exploration continues.)
Really? I'm surprised at that. Do you know which ones?
I thought all the known ones have been surveyed as far as they have been explored, though I don't know if the cavers in S. Wales have any plans to re-survey any of them to better standards of accuracy.
(Obviously a cave can only be surveyed after it has been found, but the question then is whether that mapping has been carried out. Usually it very soon after discovery, and sometimes as exploration continues.)
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@bhatjc
Oh dear! I am afraid you are far wide of the mark.
Perhaps there are few professional cave surveyors where you live, and there are certainly professional archaeologists and some other scientists who study the caves themselves in a professional context; but in the UK all cave exploration and surveying, and good deal of cave science, is carried out by amateurs, as a hobby!
There are a few professional surveyors who go caving and use their trade skills in mapping caves, but again, only as a hobby. They are not paid for it.
All of the known caves in Wales, and almost all those in the UK generally, have been surveyed, and most to appropriately high grades of accuracy and precision - which are not synonyms but I can never remember which is which.
If we do find archaeological traces in caves then we contact the professional archaeologists, and as a corollary to the above lot of other cave science is by professional scientists whose hobby is caving, so voluntarily. (You can't study a cave unless you can negotiate it!)
I am sure there are many more caves, and extensions to known caves, awaiting discovery but in countries like Britain and America, and most of Europe, most such discoveries now come only by diligently searching for likely locations of cave passage entrances hidden by thousands of years of natural weathering and silting-up. And after the joy of discovery, comes the long, painstaking task of measuring the cave and producing a decent map of it, to appropriate standards, for appropriate publication.
Largely because all this is entirely a hobby involving teams whose individuals do have other lives and commitments, finding the cave beyond a heavily-choked entrance can take years or patient manual labour even with nearly-regular weekly trips. It is also a big gamble because you don't know a cave even exists until you find it. Exploring it may take just one trip of a few hours or sprawl across many weeks, even months; but surveying a major system can take many months of underground trips and many hours of work back at home.
Oh dear! I am afraid you are far wide of the mark.
Perhaps there are few professional cave surveyors where you live, and there are certainly professional archaeologists and some other scientists who study the caves themselves in a professional context; but in the UK all cave exploration and surveying, and good deal of cave science, is carried out by amateurs, as a hobby!
There are a few professional surveyors who go caving and use their trade skills in mapping caves, but again, only as a hobby. They are not paid for it.
All of the known caves in Wales, and almost all those in the UK generally, have been surveyed, and most to appropriately high grades of accuracy and precision - which are not synonyms but I can never remember which is which.
If we do find archaeological traces in caves then we contact the professional archaeologists, and as a corollary to the above lot of other cave science is by professional scientists whose hobby is caving, so voluntarily. (You can't study a cave unless you can negotiate it!)
I am sure there are many more caves, and extensions to known caves, awaiting discovery but in countries like Britain and America, and most of Europe, most such discoveries now come only by diligently searching for likely locations of cave passage entrances hidden by thousands of years of natural weathering and silting-up. And after the joy of discovery, comes the long, painstaking task of measuring the cave and producing a decent map of it, to appropriate standards, for appropriate publication.
Largely because all this is entirely a hobby involving teams whose individuals do have other lives and commitments, finding the cave beyond a heavily-choked entrance can take years or patient manual labour even with nearly-regular weekly trips. It is also a big gamble because you don't know a cave even exists until you find it. Exploring it may take just one trip of a few hours or sprawl across many weeks, even months; but surveying a major system can take many months of underground trips and many hours of work back at home.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@bhatjc
'Fraid you'd be very lucky to find one conveniently open for you to explore now, unless you go on an expedition to a remote part of the world!
Though I understand someone's just gone and done that on the coast not far from me in the South of England - a cave almost certainly previously unknown thanks to its difficult location, usually cut off by the sea which might also flood it at high tide.
'Fraid you'd be very lucky to find one conveniently open for you to explore now, unless you go on an expedition to a remote part of the world!
Though I understand someone's just gone and done that on the coast not far from me in the South of England - a cave almost certainly previously unknown thanks to its difficult location, usually cut off by the sea which might also flood it at high tide.
bhatjc · 46-50, M
That cave with the kids trapped in it over seas. But was reading the new about the historical sites being found in wales. because of the low water
1-25 of 26