He Started Digging In His Backyard And Made The Discovery Of A Lifetime


Unexpected Discovery


John Hirst was sorting his garden out, when he unearthed something extremely hard and peculiar whilst digging. This intrigued him to find out what it was. So he rummaged to find out the old building plans, so that he could get more of an idea.
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X Marks The Spot


To find out what it was, he hired a metal detector expert to search through his yard. The expert marked two Xs for likely spots precisely where this strange surprise might be located.
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Was It Buried Treasure


Like anyone, the man had his suspicions about what might be buried in his backyard, though he wasn’t entirely sure. For all he knew, it could have been a buried treasure or it perhaps a time capsule from many years gone by. He was very intrigued.
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Digging


So he started digging in anticipation. It wasn’t long before he encountered something unexpected. It turned out that it was a metal object, though the dirt that covered it made it hard to distinguish exactly what it was.
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So he continued to dig in order to find out what was in his backyard. As he got deeper down, it was revealed that it was actually a metal lid! It was so heavy that he had to dig far around it. What exactly did this lid cover?
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What Lies Beneath


The covering proved to be extremely heavy and difficult to move, though he was eventually able to prop it up to get a better look at what was under there.
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Lifting The Lid


When the lid was lifted, he began to attempt to determine what was below it. It looked like a confusing assortment of objects. Were those stairs? Were those blades for something? He would have to continue to find out.
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I’m Going In


Before he went any further into his investigation, he had to clear more dirt out of the opening. This way he would be able to remove the door altogether and attempt to crawl inside and determine what exactly it was. Whatever it was, it had been buried in his very own garden, this amazed him.
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Pandora’s Box


Luckily, once the lid was removed, not much more dirt stood in the way of him entering the hole under the lid. Slowly and carefully, he descended the staircase. What was down there? The man knew that he wouldn’t stop until he found out! He was so eager and intrigued, he just could not fathom what it could be……
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Secret Stairways


From the look of the blueprints he discovered, it appeared that it might be some sort of bomb shelter that someone had built after fearing that there might be an apocalypse or something of that nature. Whatever it was, it truly was intricate.
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Tunnel Of Terror


Apparently, the blueprints weren’t entirely accurate in depicting whatever made up the tunnel and staircase. One thing was certain, however: it hadn’t been touched in years, and as a result, it could have fallen into disrepair without anyone being aware of it. It was quite spooky down there and had a very eery feel to it.
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Incredible Discovery


Not only did the opening appear to be a state-of-the-art bomb shelter, but it also utilized some sort of electric fan and a hand-crank fan. Whoever had made it was planning to be down there with ventilated air for a long time. Very clever planning. Wow he couldn’t believe that there was a bomb shelter under his garden.
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Out With The Old


He decided it might help to remove the rubble from the shelter and the staircase. The man wanted to make sure it was safe to be down there, and in order to do this properly, he was going to have to get all of the debris out of his way. He wanted to see what else he could discover down amongst the rubble. This could be the perfect man cave if he renovated and restored it, what would it look like?
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A Job Done Good


There was a lot of it, though it was a necessary step in making sure that the job was done properly and so he could navigate the space to the best of his ability. So he got to work placing the debris inside of buckets and bringing it outside to be disposed of.
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Grueling Labor


After a long time of grueling labor, the rubble was finally all cleared out. He was now able to climb back up to take a better look at the entrance and to determine what the next step in identifying the structure would be. It was looking so much better, he couldn’t believe.
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Stairway To…


The man decided that, in order to fully explore the “shelter,” it was probably a smart idea to enlist the help of his friends. Now only could he use the manpower, but it might be necessary to have backup just in case something collapsed and he became trapped. He was so intrigued by this stairway to the new world below.
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With a Little Help From My Friends


The group decided to excavate around the entrance and try to reinforce it. They took the time to rebuild the entrance to the shelter to ensure safety while working. They poured a fresh batch of concrete to start things off. It was looking good.
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Years Of Neglect


The site was in such disrepair from years of neglect and it was clear that the men certainly had their work cut out for them. While it took a while to get things going, perhaps the payoff in the end would be worth the wait… Teamwork led the way and they made a fun day out of dig dig digging.
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The Boyz Are Back In Town


The group did their best to reinforce the entrance so it was safe. Once the space around it was cleared, they epoxied rebar securely into place; these would help the future supports for the entrance.
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Blood, Sweat, Tears


This proved to be an extremely lengthy and time-consuming process for the group of friends. Still, they were pretty excited to spend their time taking on a new and intriguing project that could ultimately lead to an amazing discovery. It was totally worth every bit of hard work, blood, sweat and tears.
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When they were finished pouring the initial batch of concrete and securing the rebar, it was time to finally add some concrete forms to the exterior of the shelter. You can see that they began this process by building a wooden frame. It was so exciting thinking about when it would be finished.
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Whistle While You Work


Forming and pouring the concrete was a necessary aspect of this project. However, it proved that it was going to be the longest and most arduous part of rebuilding the entrance to the shelter in the man’s backyard! But they weren’t worried they had a great team behind them and they were so pumped about what they found that nothing was stopping them.
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All In A Day’s Work


The next step the men took was to apply a SonoTube cardboard form. This would provide a temporary type of protection for the interior of the shelter’s entrance. They didn’t want to damage anything while they were exploring the grounds.
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Bomb Shelter Chic


Now it was time to add a conduit for electricity and other utilities. No bomb shelter would be complete without some basic utilities, just in case they needed to be down there for a while! They had a new guys hangout zone underground how cool is that!
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Little By Little


The upper concrete forms were coming in nicely. You can really see the entire project beginning to take a definite shape. Still, there was more work that needed to be done! So off they went to build and hammer away. It was really coming together nicely.
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Summer Heat


Since it was a hot day, they covered the work area with a tent for shade. Not a bad way to make sure they stayed out of the sun while working in the blistering heat. It was really becoming a powerful centrepiece in the garden and they could not wait to show it off.
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Determination Station


The project was looking good so far, but these guys still had a way to go. Progress was happening very slowly but they were determined as ever to make sure that this shelter was returned to its former glory the right way. And nothing would stop them. (Cue the song ‘Can’t Stop Me Now)
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Rollin Up Their Sleeves


Things were getting messy! It was time to lay out the concrete. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of laying concrete knows that it is rarely a clean process. Thankfully, the group was nearing the final stages, the end was nigh and they could feel it. Morale was high.
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Digging Deep


They set the rebar in the base area for added support. If you’re going to be living and digging around underground, it’s always good to make sure everything is supported properly. The guys were imagining the finished result and success was smelling sweet.
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The Light At The End Of The Tunnel


This project was coming along nicely! This almost looked like the finished product, but as you can obviously see from the two-by-fours, there was still some work (and lots of drying!) to be done. They stood back proud of what they had done in a day’s work.
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Taking Shape


The men were finally able to remove the forms from the top part of the entrance. It really was finally starting to take its final shape. Just look how different it looked from when they first began! It is crazy to think that before this he did not even know that anything existed down there and now they had created this amazing structure.
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Pure Amazement


The men took a break and marveled at the state of their discovery. Not too long before, it had been an old and forgotten bomb shelter. Now, it was nearly completely renovated! All thanks to them. Team work really is dream work.
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Finally…..


When the concrete was finally finished, it was time to take a trip down to have a look inside. It was like going down into a completely new structure. It looked brand-spanking new! It was an incredible feeling.
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What A Discovery!


Can you believe that this tiny black pipe would be the only exposure they had to the surface? Without that, they wouldn’t be able to get enough air to breathe down there! How crazy is that? They were so proud of what they had done and so amazed with how it turned out. This incredible discovery was just waiting to be found, and we are so glad that he did.
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Time To Explore


When the concrete was finally finished, it was time to take a trip down to have a look inside. It was like going down into a completely new structure. It looked brand-spanking new!
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Inside Wonders


There was work to be done to make this a true man cave! Now it was time to remove the old steps. They were sturdy, but they were too rusty to be trusted.
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To The Ceiling


Next he spotted that the fiberglass on the ceiling started to come apart. This meant that there was going to be more work than there otherwise would have been. Fiberglass is dangerous when it touches bare skin, and it can affect your lungs, so it needed to be fixed as soon as possible. It was not going to be an easy process.
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Finally Getting Somewhere What A Result


 
When they finally got it all down they couldn’t believe how much had been there. But it was coming together and the visions was looking more like reality.
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Marveling At History


He could see the result of all his hard work, and was excited to complete it fully and use it. Imagine having that under your garden and turning it into a place you can go and escape or hang with your friends. Just incredible.
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