These are the ancient man-made tunnels from the 1200s where a prehistoric skeleton was discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chislehurst Caves, a remarkable site with over 22 miles of tunnels, is located on the outskirts of Kent and on the outskirts of London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The weaving manmade digs are believed to have been excavated between the 1200s and 1800s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tunnels are now technically part of London, but they were originally thought to be part of a nearby county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the caves first opened to the public in 1900, visitors were told that parts of the system were inhabited between 6,000 and 4,000 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first part of the caves are thought to have been built by druids before being developed by the Romans and then the Saxons around 500AD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the archaeology website Ancient Origins, one of the first historical records of Chislehurst Caves is from a 13th-century charter, and they were used for mining lime-burning chalk and flint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A prehistoric skeleton was also discovered in the ceiling, which is thought to date back to 10,000 BC or even the Ice Age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Saxon charter in the ninth century is the earliest date for anyone working or living in the caves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The area was transformed in 1865, when the Chislehurst and Bickley Park railway station opened on July 1, making it much more accessible to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This resulted in an increase in tourism, and it was speculated that the caves were mined by the Druids, Romans, and Saxons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the report, this led to a number of underground concerts, and dogs were once brought in to help find members of the public who had become disoriented in the cave mazes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is believed that the historic caves were used to store munitions at the start of World War I, and they later became a museum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
These are the ancient man-made tunnels from the 1200s where a prehistoric skeleton was discovered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[591],"tags":[1285],"class_list":["post-17989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-tunnels"],"yoast_head":"\n