Karol Krempa, head of the castle s renovation and investment department, says further work is vital to understanding and safeguarding the castle, but they can’t rule out that there might be “much more to the 270-meter section of tunnel than we are currently aware of.” This brick tunnel section serves as a groundwater runoff channel and initial inspections suggest the tunnel in Wales runs parallel to the Angiddy Brook flowing through the Wye Valley.
This observation suggests the Welsh abbey tunnels might have also served a “ hydrological function ” similar to the Ducal Castle tunnel in Poland. Tunnels are notoriously dangerous discoveries for after being excavated they can threaten to undermine the stability of the surrounding architecture.
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Team leader Allyn Gore said they were excavating a trench on a customer s property when they came across the tunnels.
Mr Gore said: Nothing had shown up on any of our drawings or records to indicate there was anything unusual about the site. Shortly after the excavation work began, the digging team made the extraordinary discovery of what they initially thought to be a cave. Work stopped immediately. I have been involved in other excavations where we have discovered old wells and cellars not shown on any plans, but nothing as exciting and impressive as this.
The company said the four-ft high tunnels were not on any previous Ordnance Survey map but work at the site was halted so heritage chiefs could inspect