In 1729 when Saltom was sunk, it was revolutionary: England’s first under-sea coal mine.
The difficulty in all mines at the time was to take as much coal out as possible, without the roof collapsing.
The technique they used was to leave columns or pillars of coal un-mined. These columns would support the roof as hewers or “haggers” dug further and further along the seam. The pattern was like a grid. Seen from above it looks just like the street plan of a city.
Saltom was a city under the sea – The submarine city.
It took great vision, use of new technologies, and unimaginable amounts of hard labour to bring Saltom into being. Read the articles in this section to find out more.