The Mysterious Underground Chambers of Gilmerton Cove

That rubble doesn't appear to be support for anything. It doesn't even reach to ceiling of the cove so how would removing it effect the structural integrity of what's above? Sounds like someone in the bureaucratic machine doesn't want them going further and not for the reason given.

reply to post by beansidhe

From what Ive read, although their origins are unknown, somewhere all the line they were used for smuggling contraband from ships off the coast, into the tunnels, and into different buildings in town to be dispersed. I understood these town-homes were also connected through their attics so stuff could come up into one...and moved and smuggled out through another and into even others.

reply to post by mysterioustranger


Aah, I see. It does say two of the tunnels are blocked off, so there might easily be more chambers and tunnels further along somewhere. I wonder what all's been smuggled along those particular tunnels?

JamboD

i live 16 miles away from there! how have i never heard about this until now?

its amazing!

thanks for bringing it to my attention, i will have go on the tour sometime

I know! I'd never heard of it either!
Get over there, and give us some on the ground reporting!!

Bilk22
That rubble doesn't appear to be support for anything. It doesn't even reach to ceiling of the cove so how would removing it effect the structural integrity of what's above? Sounds like someone in the bureaucratic machine doesn't want them going further and not for the reason given.

No, exactly! It's rubble, which has been filled in at a later date. In fact, one of the links states that they found metal hinges which must have been used for doors onto the tunnels at some point.
It's all very peculiar, really.

Im willing to wage money that these caves were created to hide catholic priests during the sectarian violence during the protestant reformation in Scotland.

Many house and castles of this period had hidden areas for this reason alone

Interesting stuff.

Anybody notice at the 911 mark in the video there is graffiti that appears multidimensional creature or altered/damaged human. Gave me the creeps - that doesn't happen often. Almost reminds me of looking at death pictures or something. Damaging.

Its endlessly fascinating how easy it is to hide things on this planet of ours. For all we know there could be entire subterranean cities. Even more fascinating is the possible connection to Rosslyn. Masonic rumor and lore has it that there are subterranean tunnels going from Rosslyn all the way to London and then on to Paris and then to Rome.

beansidhe

Nobody knows why these tunnels were carved, or what secrets they hold, and Gilmerton Cove remains one of Scotland’s most mysterious houses.

Oh I am sure some know but they ain't telling.

Really interesting location reminds me of another similar cave system but it had pillars and beautiful motifs. I can't remember the name but apparently built in modern times. Thanks for sharing.

verylowfrequency
Interesting stuff.

Anybody notice at the 911 mark in the video there is graffiti that appears multidimensional creature or altered/damaged human. Gave me the creeps - that doesn't happen often. Almost reminds me of looking at death pictures or something. Damaging.

edit on 2/17/14 by verylowfrequency because: (no reason given)

Not until you pointed it out. Well spotted! (Thanks -I think). That thing is horrific.
Yuck!

Skyfloating
Its endlessly fascinating how easy it is to hide things on this planet of ours. For all we know there could be entire subterranean cities. Even more fascinating is the possible connection to Rosslyn. Masonic rumor and lore has it that there are subterranean tunnels going from Rosslyn all the way to London and then on to Paris and then to Rome.

It fascinates me too. When you look at the breathtaking skills of the stone-workers at Rosslyn, it is not too much of a leap to think they would be able to carve some tunnels too!

In fact, I've just remembered something from another thread, but when the first Scottish lodge was established in 17?? (I'll need to go and look), it was known that the 'order' was already ancient long before then.
It's intriguing!

dollukka
Intresting, i wish they could open the doorway and see what´s behind it. Graal or not.. passage to church or not.. there has to be a way to support the street and investigate, i believe the answer is there.
wanted to link the youtube video which was in one of the links

I haven't read the article yet, but this closed tunnel has collapsed under a street?

I'm not sure how much it would cost, or if they could get a research team to do it, but ground penetrating radar would show where it goes at least, then the other end could be discovered. Any attached rooms underground would be revealed as well.

ETA: Oops! I see someone on page one mentioned this already! Duh.

reply to post by MichiganSwampBuck


No, it's a lot creepier than that!
I just found this in a blog from 2012:

There is more to be excavated under the town however the owners have been prevented from further works on some tunnels as they run under the main road of the town and there is a danger that it could collapse under the weight of traffic. There is speculation also that there is a tunnel between this chamber and Rosslyn Chapel , supposed resting place of the Holy Grail with links to the Knights Templar.

Source

If the owners have been actively prevented from exploring more, then that raises some very different questions, such as why and by whom?

reply to post by beansidhe


The easy solution if you can't excavate any further would be to deploy sonar system or ground penetrating radar and track the rest of it above ground. Once you have evidence of its size and possibly depth you can determine if in fact it puts the road at risk. If no one is permitted to do that, you'll know why.

reply to post by beansidhe


I have not heard of Gilmerton Cove before, Thanks for the wonderful and interesting thread.

I have been doing alot of reading on Rosslyn Chapel myself and might do a thread at a later date so this thread on Gilmerton Cove piqued my interest very much.

Here is a map showing the distance of Gilermton Cove and Rosslyn Chapel. We can see here that they are very close together, only 3.54 miles.

Gilmerton
55°54'20.17"N Lat
3° 7'59.16"W Long

Rosslyn
55°51'19.36"N Lat
3° 9'36.70"W Long




Perhaps the stone masons took up residence in this underground cavern, perhaps they built it themselves. Maybe it was a secret hang out after a hard days work that they would retreat to. Below it states that it was concluded that the Blacksmith could not of built the caverns on his own, and that the caverns were thought to be from a much earlier period. Perhaps the stone masons who built Rosslyn also built these chambers.

Maybe it was a secret passage from and or to Rosslyn Chapel.

Maybe it was a hiding place so that the people in the area could practice their religious beliefs without fear of persecution.

In 1792 after Paterson's death the cove was investigated by the Rev Thomas Whyte, who concluded that the chambers could not have been excavated by Paterson himself, the work was too extensive for one man to complete in five years.

A further investigation in 1897 by F R Coles of the Scottish Museum of Antiquities also concluded that chisel marks and other evidence pointed to a much earlier creation of the cove.

During the time of the covenanters in 1600s Scottish Presbyterians were persecuted, and many sought refuge to practice their religion in secret dens and hides, away from the eyes of the authorities. The 1500s also saw a time of witch persecution, where hundreds of women were hunted and killed for their devilish practices.

source

Lots of interesting things to ponder about this, thanks for sharing !

leolady

reply to post by Rosinitiate


It's definitely very, very odd, because as you say, there seems to be fairly straightforward ways of finding out where these passages go.
Or perhaps, as you said above, somebody knows full well where they go!

reply to post by Skyfloating


Here you go, I found it:

"The claim of many of these old Scottish (Masonic) Lodges, even today, is the fact that they were already ancient when the Guild Masons Craft was reorganised by William Schaw on the feast day of St. John the Evangelist in 1598."
Karen Ralls MacLeod, 'The Quest for the Celtic Key', 2003.

I only missed it by 150 years, fairly close!

Next thing is to find out about other subterranean dwellings in the area...

reply to post by Skyfloating


Edinburgh's full of them, it's got a fascinating past.
Here's an example:

The Edinburgh Vaults or South Bridge Vaults are a series of chambers formed in the nineteen arches of the South Bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was completed in 1788. For around 30 years, the vaults were used to house taverns, cobblers and other tradesmen, and as storage space for illicit material, reportedly including the bodies of people killed by serial killers Burke and Hare for medical experiments.
As the conditions in the vaults deteriorated, mainly because of damp and poor air quality, the businesses left and the very poorest of Edinburgh's citizens moved in, though by around 1820, even they are believed to have left too. That people had lived there was only discovered in 1985 during an excavation, when middens were found containing toys, medicine bottles, plates, and other signs of human habitation.[1]

The Edinburgh Vaults

Here is another map showing the vaults, cove and chapel in distance relation to each other.

I'm fairly new to using google map so the distance is probably not 100% accurate, but you get the picture of how far apart they are in relation to each other. Not too far at all.




leolady