Thames Tunnel

Did you know that the famous scientist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt came here to inspect the first tunnel under the Thames together with the young engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel when he was visiting London? Until then, no one had ever succeeded in digging a tunnel under a river. And in this area, it was even more difficult because the bed consisted of clay, sand, and gravel. Isambard Brunel's father, Marc, had developed a technique that he conceived while observing a shipworm using a shell to burrow through hard materials. Marc Brunel had developed a framework that held the soft clay in place while digging. A brick wall was constructed at the back, and new sections were excavated at the front. But in April of 1827, things began to go wrong. Water started to seep into the tunnel. Together with Alexander von Humboldt, Isambard Brunel descended in a diving bell into the river to the bottom to inspect the construction. The pressure in the diving bell was so high that the blood vessels in Humboldt's nose and throat ruptured. For a full day, Alexander coughed and sneezed blood.

Dromos