Can someone tell me what this is?

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bigdavevw
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

13 years ago

Hi guys. This was taken near the entrance to a lead mine in south west Scotland.
I had to dig the portal out to get down there, and there was a large stone in my way, so i just had to put my hand down and take a pic.
Is this a winze? The water did look like it went down a bit, rather than just a puddle, also the silt on the rocks may suggest the water rises higher. Just outside this adit was an upturned tub, about 5 meters away. The wooden stakes were about 3-4ft high.

Dave 😎

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simonrl
51% (Neutral)
Administration

13 years ago

tweaked the image tag for you - my bad, the img needs to be lower case - I need to tweak the code so it works either upper or lower 😞

my orders are to sit here and watch the world go by

bigdavevw
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

13 years ago

Cheers Simon, yea it was like that on Photobucket :confused:

AR
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

13 years ago

Hmmm, it's a bit of an odd thing -the wooden stakes seem to continue beyond the pool on the floor so I'm not convinced it's winze timbering, plus why would you timber above floor level?

Follow the horses, Johnny my laddie, follow the horses canny lad-oh!

bigdavevw
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

13 years ago

Yea its a strange one, i would get down there and have a look but i would need dug out.
Just wierd how there was a tub meters in front of the portal, when it could have only went in as far as the timbers. :confused:

Heb
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

13 years ago

Those are the remains of the timber sets that supported the walls & roof (horizontal timbers have fallen/floated off). I suspect that as the level is driven in boulder clay or similar & fills to the roof with water, all the small, fine stuff in the walls & roof has crumbled & 'dissolved', possibly flowing out to day when in flood, leaving only the big rocks. I've seen this in a number of places in the Pennines & Lake District - you end up with a very big level!

The water is just a puddle - if you don't want to be first through it, I will.

Cheers
Heb

Roy Morton
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

13 years ago

Might it be the remains of a winze windlass?

🔗Personal-Album-342-Image-70050[linkphoto]Personal-Album-342-Image-70050[/linkphoto][/link]

this one was seen in Tresavean a few years before they capped all the shafts.

"You Chinese think of everything!"
"But I''m not Chinese!"
"Then you must have forgotten something!"

bigdavevw
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

13 years ago

Hey Heb! that sounds like a good explanation to me!! The ground was very un stable too.
Only thing i can get my head round, was the adit was very narrow, and the supports were only about 2-3ft wide, yet there was a tub upside down right in front of the portal. I dont think it would have fit down there.

Just need to get permission to remove some material!

staffordshirechina
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

13 years ago

On first glance, I would agree with Heb. I have re-dug levels like this before.
What tends to happen is that the roof timbers go first, then the pressure of the loose muck from either side pushes the side timbers over at the top. Notice they appear to widen as they get deeper and the distant ones almost touch at the top.
At their base they will be stuck in floor debris and still the correct width.
Not an easy dig.

AR
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

13 years ago

#10

I think Heb's got it too, there was an illustration in an early NCMRS journal of a section of intact timbering found in the Greenhow area, which consisted of frames with truf and brushwood/wickerwork in between. It certainly looks like it's going through a patch of chossy muck, so if the clay washes out, the in-between packings decay and the stones drop to the floor you would end up with a line of timbers like this.

Follow the horses, Johnny my laddie, follow the horses canny lad-oh!