I was Googling to see how people used the word "subterranea" and I stumbled across the fantasitc Subterranea Britannica, the Web site for a 35-year-old society "devoted to the study and investigation of man-made and man-used underground places." Here are some of the categories of underground sites that interest them: Adits, Air Raid Shelters, Cave Dwellings, Chalk Wells, Control Cenres, Earth Houses, Fougous, Funicular Railway Tunnels, Mines, Mushroom growing, Priest Holes, Sallyports, Secret Hiding Places, Show Caves, Souterrains, Subways, Underground Railways, Wells. And that ain't the half of it. These folks dig deep into, er, underground culture. Their site is filled with site records, photos, and maps. The England-based society also has a zine, Subterranea, and hosts conferences and field trips in the UK and Europe.
Subterranea Britannica
the latest
latest episodes
Really cool.
One of my favorite shows on TV is "Cities of the Underworld". I think it is on History Channel. They explore underground realms like this all over the world.
WOLFWITCH @1, That sounds like a great shot! I hadn't heard of it. History Channel sometimes has great Boingish programs, in between the documentaries on specific WWII battles. ; )
If you follow the links through to their photos of Chernobyl, for any video gamers out there, it is amazing the accuracy of the sniping level in Pripyat from Call of Duty 4, complete with the ferris wheel and empty pool and apartment blocks. Eerie.
I understand John Hodgman dedicates a significant portion of his new book to these mole-men.
As an obsessive of the London Underground this is one of my favourite websites around. I find the abandoned tube stations the most interesting. This website is brilliant for that if you are interested:
http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/
I've enjoyed Infiltration and the The Urban Exploration Ring.
Brainspore @ 4 - These are not mole-men... ~this~ is a mole-man...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7348949.stm
A similar group here in AU
http://www.caveclan.org/
That's twice in as many days that a BoingBoing piece has mentioned 'England' in a context which could arguably be referring to the entire UK. If I may, I'd like to head-off a trend.
'England' and 'the UK' aren't synonymous: England is just one part of the overall country; it's (extremely) roughly analogous to a US state. If people routinely said 'New York' when referring to the entire USA, residents of Kansas might laugh it off once or twice, but after the thousandth time, perhaps not. Likewise with the residents of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland who definitely don't regard ourselves as English.
Okay, Subterranea Britannica may literally be based in England, but it's not standard UK usage to make the distinction. You're technically correct in saying "England-based society", but please be aware that you're avoidably treading on the toes of all us non-English Brits.
Sorry to hijack the thread. ;)
The most incredible underground city is in Cappadocia, Turkey.
http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/derinkuyu-or-allure-of-underground-city.html
#1 & #2
i have only ever watched the one about Jerusalem and although it was very informative and intresting it bothered me with it's bias wording, for example it used the phrases "Arab invaders" whilst we were "the occupying British" (refering to a secret Isreali army / weapons factory hidden beneath a laundry(ACE)). At moments it did sound a lot like anti Palestine propaganda.