How long to dig through my tunnel?
In my epic fantasy world set in the 1450's there are underground tunnels that literally go across from under the ocean for 700 miles or so. So here are my questions:
- How long would it take to dig through this tunnels which would be made from rock and minerals.
- How many men would you need?
- Is there anything else I should take into consideration?
This is all for my worlds history, I know it's unrealistic to make this happen but I'm making an epic fantasy and as long as I know the numbers I can create a cool story about why/how this was made.
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/131728. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1 answer
As several answers say, this is impossible. One solution is to (very early in the book) attribute the construction to a previous advanced civilization with mystery tech capable of this feat.
A more plausible solution is not a tunnel, but a kind of rail road. The Vikings in 800 AD had crucible steel, in some cases superior to even modern steel. They only used it for top-class Ulfbehrt swords, but imagine if they had used it for machine and other purposes sometime in the following 650 years. In particular, they might have figured out how to lay a big steel cable and anchor it to the sea floor (Lead lasts centuries under sea water, especially if lacquered first). I'd put a thick coat of lacquer on the cable, too. So an ox-powered "carriage" (a big submarine basically) could drag itself along this cable and cross the ocean.
I think you'd still be better off with ships, or a series of giant floating circular rafts anchored to each other, a hundred yards wide. Even if broken by hurricanes, that is a highway that could be repaired.
0 comment threads
0 comment threads