This week we have continued to dig on Level 4, we have now filled skip no. 140 and continue to pull back the sand and sandstone which has exposed the bedrock floor even further. The pumping of the water also continues, we average pumping out around 20 to 25 inches of water per day (2 days a week), that is a lot of water! As previously reported, we started to uncover timber in the sump area. This week saw even more of the bedrock floor being uncovered, along with even more of the timber similar to what has been found previously. However, this timber turns out to be a lot bigger than we first thought. You can see in the photographs the extent of the timber so far. It’s thought that it’s length could be approx. 10ft, assuming that it is the same length as a similar loose plank of wood found a week or so ago in the same area.

What is this timber, could it have been a timber floor covering the rough sandstone bedrock or possibly even a canopy over something, only time will tell.

The first photograph (below), is taken through the circular drop hole that is at the end of Level 2. It looks down into the now frightening depths of Level 4. Look carefully and you can see the bedrock floor, although immersed in water, look even more carefully and you may be able to see the small orange tags on the arch roof showing where the level of the ash and spoil was before we started the big dig.

The depth from ground Level to the deepest point, is currently 17.25 meters or 56 feet aprox. That’s quite a depth…