UPDATE! Temporary fencing has now been put up around the holes. No official reply yet, but I’m assuming this means they have plans for something more permanent.
Still an awesome discovery, and for those wondering why they are full of water, that would probably make sense if they were test holes. Filling up with water would probably be what they were testing for to see if it was suitable to build a dam there. If they fill up with water, the soil is saturated and a dam might wash away which would explain why they didn't build one.
excrement video.. i thought might be mines, for lime..britt, living in aus.. like all britts, should.. oh,,& some irish.. we have an irish day.. & cornish hisory..moonta mines,. s.a. @@StephenJReid
Discussing history isn't political... it's historical. If the British government couldn't give a flying what not about the starving Irish...you are entitled to say it, without worrying about whether or not it's politcal. Fascinating video...and some great images inside those holes 👍 Excellent 👏
@@StephenJReid "Stephen made me go and I tripped over the bobbed wire and fell in the hole head first and died" ... as he tells god why he is dead. ... hahah anyone falling in them holes alone is not getting back out haha.
Hi Stephen. My name is Ed Young & I live in the Southern United States. I'm 63 years old and this is the very first video of yours I've watched. Already, I'm hooked. Your presentation is excellent. The humor in the video is priceless with all the funny texts you include to poke fun at you. At the same time i admire your work because you've obviously done your research and checked out your findings with reputable sources. BRAVO! I cant wait to see more of your videos. Keep up the great work. - Ed
Those were not the traps, those were the places they were digging for the pots of gold, the leprechauns got people digging till their arms tired and then slipped away in the dead of night.
I'm glad you contacted the government and let them know that the barbed wire was down. It would be bad for some midnight hiker to fall in one of these holes. Your documentary was excellent! Your research was very good. Professionally done! Very interesting and educational content! Thank you.
Very interesting. The idea of someone walking through those woods (especially at night) not knowing those holes were there, terrifies me. I do wonder why the test holes were made so close to houses though.
Hi, my latest research puts these holes at about 1945, long after the houses were abandoned. I suspect the holes put there because of ease of access, there was probably remains of old tracks to those houses still in 45.
The old maps reminded me of time spent in the local reference library poring over OS maps from the 18/1900's looking for cool things to explore. I was a weird kid! We found a couple of forgotten wells around Ballymena, one in Ballykeel and one in Galgorm, along with an overgrown ringfort in the grounds of Galgorm Castle. It's really cool that all that historical information is available online now. Back then they wouldn't even let us make photocopies of the maps so we sat in the library sketching them out by hand.
Recommendations for further investigation: Attach a hook to a rope and pull out limbs and debris. Attach weight to rope and get depth measurement. Attach magnet to rope and see if you have any luck. Attach GoPro to rope and lower to half a foot shy of bottom. Hopefully you now have a water hole that is free from obstructions and by dropping short you won't have soot (mulm) blacking out the visibility for best production result.
So glad you secured those holes Stephen, great video once again. Old ruins in the trees are beautiful. This is proper exploring finding gems like this to make you curious of what was once going on in these areas many years ago. Great work by the guys doing the map research 👏
The first thing I thought when I saw you standing next to that thing was “death trap”. Imagine falling into that thing and realizing that no one knows where you are, while you tread water… 🙁
You're the 678th channel I've subscribed to in the past 10 years. Now I'm having to ignore 677 of them whilst I go through your very interesting back catalogue of over 400 videos. Now I have something to keep me busy for a few weeks.
It's say they're unlikely to be test bores for a reservoir. They would normally be drilled, and be a maximum of 12 inches diameter. I would suggest the water supply idea is asking the right lines, but not actually test bores.
That explains my friends house , I commented on his shed once and he said there's 6 more down in the forest , an entire village abandoned. Yea top of a mountain almost with river flowing right through it, I know a few more near me but lucky for me never found a hole like that yet or fallen in one.
wow, that was exciting, no matter what it ended up being 👍! That was the first video of yours. My ancestors are Irish and unfortunately I don't know anything about them but I definitely want to go to Ireland ❤️
@@StephenJReid yes, unfortunately circumstances forced so many to move away. It must have been an unimaginably hard time for everyone, otherwise who would want to leave such a beautiful country. I'm definitely looking forward to what you'll discover in further videos.🙂
I think this format is working for you. I loved it. I would have one for you that would take you back to donegal - Gila Island and the history of why people went off the island. Keep going Stephen - you are beginning to snowball.
Thanks🙂 I’m not going to make every video like this as I put probably over 40hours into this, but I am going to try and incorporate a bit more history or interesting location facts or just telling stories into my other videos. Planning to go back to Donegal Soon so Gila Island sounds very interesting!
@@StephenJReid i dont blame yah - thats a good bit if work. Ill just say shipwreck of whiskey or so the story goes. Over that way a bit further south too is inishmurray - easily got to from mullaghmore and it has some stories. You never know - these places could spark some ideas.
Good you made it safer. They told us in school that with every data copy we loose a specific amount of data. This was meant for IT age, but it also applies here: By copying the map, they just omitted them and the data got lost.
Amazing Stephen! I’ve been sooo looking forward to that! You have an amazing talent for creating stories on film and what a show that was! It was a real pleasure to work with you and have to say, a real satisfaction getting to the “bottom” of it! Thanks for the shout out BTW, very kind indeed! I was actually getting embarrassed at one point😂 So thanks again and maybe catch you out the hills sometime! ATB
Thanks very much! I’ve spent so much time in the edit that I was boring myself when watching it so was worried it would bore everyone else too! Still glad I cut it down from 50minutes! Thanks for your help, you may have set a precedent every time I find something old and interesting 😂
Haha I cut my first attempt with the camera where I forgot to switch it on, second attempt where it failed because I didn’t use a dive housing, a lot more of various theories that didn’t really go anywhere, a rant about the state of native forests in Ireland that didn’t feel relevant and a 3min long ending where I just went over everything again
Yeah that really was fascinating. Thanks for investigating and making this alternative set of videos upon discovering the holes. Loved this, really well done too, and looking forward to any confirmation you get. Hope they'll put up fences too. Nice work on the temp ones, much better than the ankle high trip wire 👌
Get you a metal detector. Sweep the area and tell us what you found. If you could find the latrine/outhouse it would be like a time capsule. Old Stoneware and glass bottles are ways to date the area. Old maps you have are great way to find historical sites. But remember people move, teardown, and rebuild. 200 years is a lot of change to discover.
Loved this video, so interesting. Hope you’re having fun on your Cairn, mine arrives in the last week in March, can’t wait. As always keep up the exemplary videos 😊😊😊
Well, done, no pun intended. Those holes are dug and collared like a vertical mine shaft, so it is entirely likely that they had miners digging these test sites. Except the are no drifts stemming off from the shaft, so this is indeed very interesting, and I think you did an excellent job as well as the fellow that helped you dig for the truth about them. The footage you got of the Shafts is very good, and although the second one was a bit murky it was still plenty clear enough to see the structure of the collar. The wider shaft, judging from the closeness of the tress around it and how denser the vegetation is around it, is likely to have much more depth than what you saw because of the amount of Deadfall that can fall into an open shaft during the span of 200 years!!! And the narrower shaft is likely deeper also, because 65 feet is not deep enough to tell if the region can handle and contain a reservoir and Dam. So Good on you for your effort and it totally caught my attention because I am a regular viewer of Mine explorers here on TH-cam. I definitely will subscribe to your channel and keep my eye open for your posts because you have captured my attention for the depth you have gone to, to solve this mystery.
I'm so impressed by your research into this! And the footage you've recorded. I was quite literally gripped! Well done on a brilliant film 👏 this is excellent
Gary found out the names of the landowners and the people who lived there. Amazing what can be found in libraries. But can’t reveal any of that as gives away the location plus the video would be too long. The first cut was 50minutes!
The first person with a good metal detector will have some really great great finds .Veritable treasures to some who collect such. Just 1 coin or artifact can tell you when it was possible last occupied . History is there to be uncovered. Best of luck .Great find. Im a new sub.
Wow, what a find and interesting history! I love old ruins and also try to imagine what it was like living there in the past. I thought they might be wells at first. Great work sectioning off the holes, so dangerous even for animals. Loved your video about this 😀
@StephenJReid I've been quite bad in the past for wandering off the trodden path as it's exciting what you can find, but more aware now that there might not be solid ground and really need to be careful 😯
Admire your tenacity and determination to find out what these shafts were for. It’s always fascinating to be in a place where people have lived and try and imagine what their lives were like. What was the App you used to look at old maps? I have the UK OS map App but don’t think it’s possible to go back in map history as you were doing. First visit to your channel and I have subscribed.
I agree with the comment below me which says not very often YT recommendations comes up with a Gem but this time they did and of course I had to like n' subscribe Cheers from a new Canadian fan the Crazy Canuck on Vancouver Island
4:54 places like this make me want to get out my metal detector! That would make a good video too. Thanks for giving me imperial as well as metric. Very polite. I enjoyed following your mystery adventure partly because I love old things, but I think you make a great reporter.
Great video and very fascinating, with the help of your great humour and enthusiasm towards anything you do! Love watching the videos - very entertaining… there was a hole similar to that near me (Pendle) however I know it was a well and it has recently become a well again 😂 great water source for camps though!
Thanks Dan! I suppose for all intents and purposes the holes are now wells. The water in the deeper one looked incredibly clean (before I disturbed it)
It’s a strange feeling. Ruins like this are very common in the countryside here. There are even remnants of 3000year old forts not far from where I live. People have been here a long long time.
Epic video Stephen. Educational, investigative and fun. Another potential albeit later reason for Mourne Wall?? Well done. Thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you.
Yeah I think it’s a similar reason the wall was built in the Mournes. I’m guessing it was similar practice all over before modern water treatment was invented.
Fantastic video, one of your most 'historical' for sure. It's amazing but also a bit tragic how the landscape has changed over the centuries. 19th century Ireland was a grim place to be a tenant farmer that's for sure. I remember a few years ago I spotted a oil painting at a local auction house that immediately caught my eye; sure enough on closer inspection it was Silent Valley, but before it was flooded to make the reservoir. It was really interesting being able to have a look into the past like that; I defo regret not bidding on it at the time as it seemed like a great piece of history.
Thanks! I’d like to do more videos like this with a documentary feel but maybe not very often as this took 4 different trips and about 5 shoots in various locations. I also re-shot parts several times as we found out more information. I could have made an hour long version. 🙈 The old maps are fascinating for seeing how the landscape has changed and it’s easy to think it was such a long time ago but 200 years is less than 3 average lifetimes.
Although you point to the holes being test holes at the end of the film, the two holes also make sense as being the source of lime for the lime kilns. I initially assumed that they were wells for the properties.
Hi! Yeah, that was one of our early theories too, but after chatting with an expert we have it good authority that there would be no limestone there to mine.
@@IrelandOutdoors - It’s all very interesting stuff. I wonder where the lime for the kilns came from? I know that here in the UK there were often railways bringing the stone to the kilns but the kilns where you are look much smaller scale.
@@daveys In this particular area the lime was brought in by boat and the local farmers would have carted it back to their farms for local burning then using on their fields etc.
Oh for the love of maps. I too, found an old map with an unknown cemetery upon it. The map was well over 200 years old. The state historical autorities said (I kid you not) that it was a "PLANNING MAP". Who the heck contacts the US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO PLAN FOR A "FUTURE" CEMETERY ? NO ONE. I just told them, "Thank you." and hung up. You should just hang up your dirty socks outside on a tree and call it a Clootie Well. Im sure there is an old book out there from 1892 "Holy Wells of England" denoting which Holy Well this may possibly be. Especially. since the oldest title I've found dates as well as your map.
This makes me think of the Fae folklore that my grandma ( born and raised in Ireland) would tell me about. The other thing is the song, can’t think of the name but it’s like the hole in ground and the trees growing around and around. This is so cool to see.
You should have no problems, we recce'd the last portion of the Malvern Hills Ultra on Saturday, and thankfully the mud no longer has the consistency of porridge, with a bit of luck that towpath will have dried out a bit by the start of April! Might bring you some Squashies for a morale boost on the day
Back in the day the reason for marking location of a thing like this on a map was to protect people from falling into it. In other words, they didn't keep it a secret to prevent people from falling in, but instead they would warn people about the location with coordinates directions or maps. Common sense, dude.
Common sense would be to not give people a reason to visit a location that is rarely visited. That’s the one thing we all learned from Instagram during the pandemic. Previously unknown locations suddenly swarmed with curious people. The risk is lower to keep it a secret and ensure fencing is put up.
Keeping in vague is just going to increase the risk of someone getting lost and falling into the hole by trying to look for it not knowing exactly where it is.
very impressed by your research and analysis, with some invaluable help from your correspondent, and for securing the perimeter of these dangerous holes. You would think that some sort of heavy duty covers would make the safest solution but that's beside the point. It seems you have nailed it. You have a new subscriber. Thank you.
UPDATE! Temporary fencing has now been put up around the holes. No official reply yet, but I’m assuming this means they have plans for something more permanent.
Did you have many underground coal mines or other mines in Ireland ????
Why are they full of water? Is it the water table, or do they not drain well, and they are full rain water build up?
Still an awesome discovery, and for those wondering why they are full of water, that would probably make sense if they were test holes. Filling up with water would probably be what they were testing for to see if it was suitable to build a dam there. If they fill up with water, the soil is saturated and a dam might wash away which would explain why they didn't build one.
4:30 - that's not a house, that's a mansion, and it's probably more like 500-1000 years old.
Awesome and good job with the string. Hopefully you get to know for sure
Not often TH-cam recommendations turns up a gem but this time it did
Ditto! 👍🏼
Thank you ! Spent ages on this 🙂
its becoming rare to find intelligence presented on any media platform anymore, but thankfully there are these that make the trawling worthwhile.
excrement video.. i thought might be mines, for lime..britt, living in aus.. like all britts, should.. oh,,& some irish.. we have an irish day.. & cornish hisory..moonta mines,. s.a. @@StephenJReid
Absolute. banger.
Discussing history isn't political... it's historical. If the British government couldn't give a flying what not about the starving Irish...you are entitled to say it, without worrying about whether or not it's politcal.
Fascinating video...and some great images inside those holes 👍
Excellent 👏
I did criticise our current government, that’s definitely political. But yes historical facts shouldn’t be, but not everyone agrees on the facts
As an English man, I'm ashamed of how my ancestors abused the Irish. It was a disgusting time in our history.
@@TIMMEH19991 The land owners abused their English tenants too. As long as they had money coming in they did not care about their tenants
@@TIMMEH19991 👍👌
the bit at the end proves you, sir, are a good soul.
Or I’m just trying to avoid liability 😂
@@StephenJReid "Stephen made me go and I tripped over the bobbed wire and fell in the hole head first and died" ... as he tells god why he is dead. ... hahah anyone falling in them holes alone is not getting back out haha.
He’s just a testhole
@@StephenJReidyou're only reliable if you own the land.
Good lad ringing the water service and putting up that make shift fence!What a terrifying end it would be if some camper fell into that hole.....
Yeah, accident waiting to happen! Very few people will likely ever be in that exact area, but I came across it so I’m sure I’ll not be the only one.
No s*** I'd be freaked out I'd be dead probably I camp a lot😮
Ya, no one camps up there. It's still contaminated.
Perfectly taken over by nature and then you add plastic wire...
@@duudsuufd there’s nothing natural about the monoculture spruce plantation that’s growing around it.
Hi Stephen.
My name is Ed Young & I live in the Southern United States.
I'm 63 years old and this is the very first video of yours I've watched.
Already, I'm hooked.
Your presentation is excellent. The humor in the video is priceless with all the funny texts you include to poke fun at you.
At the same time i admire your work because you've obviously done your research and checked out your findings with reputable sources. BRAVO!
I cant wait to see more of your videos.
Keep up the great work.
- Ed
You could have spun a fantastic yarn about the great leprechaun hunt of 1835 and how these were the remnants of the traps 🤣
Naw that happened in 1786, everyone knows that 😂
Those were not the traps, those were the places they were digging for the pots of gold, the leprechauns got people digging till their arms tired and then slipped away in the dead of night.
@@StephenJReid 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I'm glad you contacted the government and let them know that the barbed wire was down. It would be bad for some midnight hiker to fall in one of these holes. Your documentary was excellent! Your research was very good. Professionally done! Very interesting and educational content! Thank you.
Very interesting. The idea of someone walking through those woods (especially at night) not knowing those holes were there, terrifies me.
I do wonder why the test holes were made so close to houses though.
Hi, my latest research puts these holes at about 1945, long after the houses were abandoned. I suspect the holes put there because of ease of access, there was probably remains of old tracks to those houses still in 45.
@@IrelandOutdoors That makes sense.
Cheers for reply and happy history hunting.
@@IrelandOutdoors right since the old map was marking the kilns, that means the holes could be made at any time. thanks for the update
@@offan- Maybe the map was scaled differently than assumed.
Those "dwellings" were probably the lime kilns and the dwellings long gone.
The old maps reminded me of time spent in the local reference library poring over OS maps from the 18/1900's looking for cool things to explore. I was a weird kid!
We found a couple of forgotten wells around Ballymena, one in Ballykeel and one in Galgorm, along with an overgrown ringfort in the grounds of Galgorm Castle. It's really cool that all that historical information is available online now. Back then they wouldn't even let us make photocopies of the maps so we sat in the library sketching them out by hand.
Class! Were the wells still there?
We did the same and found a mini Stonehenge near Newcastle and we did go and find it ,it we cool to see
Recommendations for further investigation:
Attach a hook to a rope and pull out limbs and debris.
Attach weight to rope and get depth measurement.
Attach magnet to rope and see if you have any luck.
Attach GoPro to rope and lower to half a foot shy of bottom.
Hopefully you now have a water hole that is free from obstructions and by dropping short you won't have soot (mulm) blacking out the visibility for best production result.
So glad you secured those holes Stephen, great video once again. Old ruins in the trees are beautiful.
This is proper exploring finding gems like this to make you curious of what was once going on in these areas many years ago.
Great work by the guys doing the map research 👏
Thanks Ben! Gary was a massive help, he's going to find himself recruited again 🤣
The first thing I thought when I saw you standing next to that thing was “death trap”. Imagine falling into that thing and realizing that no one knows where you are, while you tread water… 🙁
That gopro footage looks like the start of a good horror movie!
It's like watching Tony Robinson on Time Team, but less geophysics! Excellent stuff...
With my maths ability, probably best I avoid physics! 😂 thanks
I just spent 21 minutes looking at a video about holes. I enjoy.
You're the 678th channel I've subscribed to in the past 10 years. Now I'm having to ignore 677 of them whilst I go through your very interesting back catalogue of over 400 videos. Now I have something to keep me busy for a few weeks.
Hey thanks! Most of them aren’t like this one so hopefully you enjoy a rather wide range of videos! 🙂🙂 great to have you onboard
It's say they're unlikely to be test bores for a reservoir. They would normally be drilled, and be a maximum of 12 inches diameter. I would suggest the water supply idea is asking the right lines, but not actually test bores.
@@TheMatthooks In the 1800s most wells / test holes were hand dug, therefore they were a lot larger than 12"
That explains my friends house , I commented on his shed once and he said there's 6 more down in the forest , an entire village abandoned. Yea top of a mountain almost with river flowing right through it, I know a few more near me but lucky for me never found a hole like that yet or fallen in one.
Had me gripped there Stephen in your uniquely modest, self-deprecating but infectious style. 👏
Atb, Paul
Thanks Paul 🙂
Just phenomenal cinematography my friend, captivating and masterfully narrated!
Thank you! looks like I'm going to have to put more effort in from now on 🤣
That was fascinating Stephen and well done for securing it so less likely for someone to be killed
Thanks Stephen!
wow, that was exciting, no matter what it ended up being 👍! That was the first video of yours. My ancestors are Irish and unfortunately I don't know anything about them but I definitely want to go to Ireland ❤️
Glad you enjoyed it Angie! 🙂 so much history here. It’s crazy how many people emigrated from Ireland all around the world.
@@StephenJReid yes, unfortunately circumstances forced so many to move away. It must have been an unimaginably hard time for everyone, otherwise who would want to leave such a beautiful country.
I'm definitely looking forward to what you'll discover in further videos.🙂
Now that was a fun and interesting, and investigative story - really enjoyed that :)
Thanks! Have a couple more videos planned in a similar style. Although maybe not as in depth. This took forever to piece together
That's what I like a good investigation,,, dig up history, maps , papers etc.... Excellent Work Sir !!! Thank You !!!!
I think this format is working for you. I loved it. I would have one for you that would take you back to donegal - Gila Island and the history of why people went off the island. Keep going Stephen - you are beginning to snowball.
Thanks🙂 I’m not going to make every video like this as I put probably over 40hours into this, but I am going to try and incorporate a bit more history or interesting location facts or just telling stories into my other videos.
Planning to go back to Donegal Soon so Gila Island sounds very interesting!
Did you mean Gola Island? It’s on my list 🙂
@@StephenJReid i dont blame yah - thats a good bit if work. Ill just say shipwreck of whiskey or so the story goes. Over that way a bit further south too is inishmurray - easily got to from mullaghmore and it has some stories. You never know - these places could spark some ideas.
Same builder Oak Island!!
Good you made it safer. They told us in school that with every data copy we loose a specific amount of data. This was meant for IT age, but it also applies here: By copying the map, they just omitted them and the data got lost.
Brilliant follow up video Stephen 👍
And thank you for doing all that research and then sharing it with us.
I love this type of history.
Thanks Ivan!
You, Stephen, are brilliant! And to do the right thing at the end too? Brilliant x2! What a brilliant story!
Thanks Tom! 🙂 not my usual video type but too good a story to pass but
Amazing Stephen! I’ve been sooo looking forward to that! You have an amazing talent for creating stories on film and what a show that was! It was a real pleasure to work with you and have to say, a real satisfaction getting to the “bottom” of it! Thanks for the shout out BTW, very kind indeed! I was actually getting embarrassed at one point😂 So thanks again and maybe catch you out the hills sometime! ATB
Thanks very much! I’ve spent so much time in the edit that I was boring myself when watching it so was worried it would bore everyone else too! Still glad I cut it down from 50minutes!
Thanks for your help, you may have set a precedent every time I find something old and interesting 😂
@@StephenJReidAny time Stephen!
@@StephenJReidoh btw, I would have watched the 50 min directors cut no problem!!
Haha I cut my first attempt with the camera where I forgot to switch it on, second attempt where it failed because I didn’t use a dive housing, a lot more of various theories that didn’t really go anywhere, a rant about the state of native forests in Ireland that didn’t feel relevant and a 3min long ending where I just went over everything again
Well the final cut worked well
The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.
the algorithm worked today, glad this showed up for me
An excellent video young Stephen, thankfully you got answers to all the questions. Many thanks for all your hard work.
Thanks Andy 🙂
Yeah that really was fascinating. Thanks for investigating and making this alternative set of videos upon discovering the holes. Loved this, really well done too, and looking forward to any confirmation you get. Hope they'll put up fences too. Nice work on the temp ones, much better than the ankle high trip wire 👌
Thanks! Hope I hear back soon
This whole saga has been riveting! Thanks to you and also Gary for doing the research. Quite the rabbit hole! 🕳️
Thank you! 🙂
Respect after you put a barrier around the test hole. That’s what helped make my mind up to subscribe. Great job. Interesting video.
Thanks for subscribing 🙂 glad you enjoyed the video
Get you a metal detector. Sweep the area and tell us what you found. If you could find the latrine/outhouse it would be like a time capsule. Old Stoneware and glass bottles are ways to date the area. Old maps you have are great way to find historical sites. But remember people move, teardown, and rebuild. 200 years is a lot of change to discover.
Loved this video, so interesting. Hope you’re having fun on your Cairn, mine arrives in the last week in March, can’t wait. As always keep up the exemplary videos 😊😊😊
Thanks! 🙂 was out on the Cairn again today, love it. Great for exploring after days of long runs. Have videos planned too 🙂
Absolutely great video steven ! A lot of effort has clearly gone into this so well done you !! Always great work from you 💪💪
Thanks Matthew! Spent a lot more time on this than I expected. Kept thinking I’d figured it out and then new info appeared or I found something
Great video, very informative. And well done for fencing it off.
Thanks Mark! Hopefully gets a proper fence soon
This was super interesting Stephen! Exactly the kind of content that keeps me watching. Love local history mysteries. Absolutely brilliant video.
Thanks! I might have to do more
Well, done, no pun intended. Those holes are dug and collared like a vertical mine shaft, so it is entirely likely that they had miners digging these test sites. Except the are no drifts stemming off from the shaft, so this is indeed very interesting, and I think you did an excellent job as well as the fellow that helped you dig for the truth about them. The footage you got of the Shafts is very good, and although the second one was a bit murky it was still plenty clear enough to see the structure of the collar. The wider shaft, judging from the closeness of the tress around it and how denser the vegetation is around it, is likely to have much more depth than what you saw because of the amount of Deadfall that can fall into an open shaft during the span of 200 years!!! And the narrower shaft is likely deeper also, because 65 feet is not deep enough to tell if the region can handle and contain a reservoir and Dam. So Good on you for your effort and it totally caught my attention because I am a regular viewer of Mine explorers here on TH-cam. I definitely will subscribe to your channel and keep my eye open for your posts because you have captured my attention for the depth you have gone to, to solve this mystery.
I'm so impressed by your research into this! And the footage you've recorded. I was quite literally gripped! Well done on a brilliant film 👏 this is excellent
Thanks Sarah! Currently working on another couple of scripts 🙂
I'm honestly surprised the holes weren't full of dead animals that had accidentally fallen in.
If one had fallen in, the smell of it would keep the rest away
Not that much wildlife in coniferous plantation alas.
Such a good video Steve! 😊 Love learning a bit of history, even if it’s less fun than a portal to the upside down. 😂
🙂😁😁😁 no vecna at the bottlm
very interesting, well researched! Nice meeting you at Glencoe Mountain Resort today! Anna from Germany
Great job 👏 thanks for sharing ❤
Fascinating video, thanks for sharing.
Thank you 🙂
Only half way through video, but really fascinated with this history. Well done! Brilliant. Of course you would make it safer and alert someone.🙂
😁 thanks! Have dobe
Dude, you are a savage. It takes a very strong person to do what you do, alone.
Got this video in my feed for some reason. I'm glad I watched it. Loved it.
I'll be checking out your other videos.
Fascinating stuff. Great film!
Thanks! 🙂
Totally loved the ending wmsl! Great video Steve😊👍
Thank you 🙂
Great video mate thank you for doing the research
Glad you enjoyed it
So cool to find old foundations and walls in a forest, just so many questions.
Gary found out the names of the landowners and the people who lived there. Amazing what can be found in libraries. But can’t reveal any of that as gives away the location plus the video would be too long. The first cut was 50minutes!
The first person with a good metal detector will have some really great great finds .Veritable treasures to some who collect such. Just 1 coin or artifact can tell you when it was possible last occupied . History is there to be uncovered. Best of luck .Great find. Im a new sub.
Bravo Sir, this is a fascinating follow up video.
Thank you!🙂
Wow, what a find and interesting history! I love old ruins and also try to imagine what it was like living there in the past. I thought they might be wells at first. Great work sectioning off the holes, so dangerous even for animals. Loved your video about this 😀
Thanks! Not my normal type of video but too good a mystery to pass by, glad people are enjoying it 🙂
@StephenJReid I've been quite bad in the past for wandering off the trodden path as it's exciting what you can find, but more aware now that there might not be solid ground and really need to be careful 😯
Mysterious holes. Thanks for uploading!
Thanks for watching!
Love this format of content mate. Please do more ❤
Might do!
Admire your tenacity and determination to find out what these shafts were for.
It’s always fascinating to be in a place where people have lived and try and imagine what their lives were like.
What was the App you used to look at old maps? I have the UK OS map App but don’t think it’s possible to go back in map history as you were doing.
First visit to your channel and I have subscribed.
Thank for subscribing! Not many of my videos are this complex, was an unexpected story. I used the Hiiker app
That's brilliant, have wondered this for years . Came across this 3 years ago . Class video
Hopefully I get official confirmation!
Amazing video! I was hooked 💪
Your video got out thank you for sharing I was more interested in the old house and forest very beautiful
Very interesting video Stephen, really enjoyed it 👍 well done for putting the markers up 🙌
Thanks!
Fantastic gripping video. Thank you, et al, for making it. ( I hope that's the correct use of et al)
Thanks! Et al are very grateful too 😁
That was absolutely brilliant :) Liked and subbed :) Your presenting and editing style was a joy to watch. I'm definitely a fan :)
I agree with the comment below me which says not very often YT recommendations comes up with a Gem but this time they did and of course I had to like n' subscribe Cheers from a new Canadian fan the Crazy Canuck on Vancouver Island
Thank you! I’d love to visit Canada sometime. I had a manager years ago who was from Vancouver
4:54 places like this make me want to get out my metal detector! That would make a good video too. Thanks for giving me imperial as well as metric. Very polite. I enjoyed following your mystery adventure partly because I love old things, but I think you make a great reporter.
We don't have a lot of old places or archeology in the west Coast United States.
Great video and very fascinating, with the help of your great humour and enthusiasm towards anything you do! Love watching the videos - very entertaining… there was a hole similar to that near me (Pendle) however I know it was a well and it has recently become a well again 😂 great water source for camps though!
Thanks Dan! I suppose for all intents and purposes the holes are now wells. The water in the deeper one looked incredibly clean (before I disturbed it)
As a Sassenach, I like your Presentation & I fully understand your Northern accent, to be perhaps too honest these days.
What an excellent video, so good to watch. Most interesting and well shot and produced.
Thank you 🙂
man, I wish we had remnants of civilization this old in the US, it must be so cool to stand where someone else built a house hundreds of years ago.
It’s a strange feeling. Ruins like this are very common in the countryside here.
There are even remnants of 3000year old forts not far from where I live. People have been here a long long time.
Beautiful history there! Its on our bucket list to spend a month in Ireland exploring
Excellent research. Enjoyed that thank you 😊
Epic video Stephen. Educational, investigative and fun. Another potential albeit later reason for Mourne Wall?? Well done. Thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you.
Yeah I think it’s a similar reason the wall was built in the Mournes. I’m guessing it was similar practice all over before modern water treatment was invented.
Fantastic video, one of your most 'historical' for sure. It's amazing but also a bit tragic how the landscape has changed over the centuries. 19th century Ireland was a grim place to be a tenant farmer that's for sure. I remember a few years ago I spotted a oil painting at a local auction house that immediately caught my eye; sure enough on closer inspection it was Silent Valley, but before it was flooded to make the reservoir. It was really interesting being able to have a look into the past like that; I defo regret not bidding on it at the time as it seemed like a great piece of history.
Thanks! I’d like to do more videos like this with a documentary feel but maybe not very often as this took 4 different trips and about 5 shoots in various locations. I also re-shot parts several times as we found out more information. I could have made an hour long version. 🙈
The old maps are fascinating for seeing how the landscape has changed and it’s easy to think it was such a long time ago but 200 years is less than 3 average lifetimes.
That was awesome! So interesting. Welldone sir
Thanks Thomas! Spent a lot more time on this than I was expecting. 😂
@@StephenJReid it was well worth it. Absolutely brilliant. And good to see you put a barrier up.
Love this film, a great story telling
Although you point to the holes being test holes at the end of the film, the two holes also make sense as being the source of lime for the lime kilns. I initially assumed that they were wells for the properties.
Hi! Yeah, that was one of our early theories too, but after chatting with an expert we have it good authority that there would be no limestone there to mine.
@@IrelandOutdoors - It’s all very interesting stuff. I wonder where the lime for the kilns came from? I know that here in the UK there were often railways bringing the stone to the kilns but the kilns where you are look much smaller scale.
@@daveys In this particular area the lime was brought in by boat and the local farmers would have carted it back to their farms for local burning then using on their fields etc.
Super follow up. Great bit of investigation. Digging those holes would have been quite an achievement.
Thanks Rob 🙂
Oh for the love of maps. I too, found an old map with an unknown cemetery upon it. The map was well over 200 years old. The state historical autorities said (I kid you not) that it was a "PLANNING MAP". Who the heck contacts the US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO PLAN FOR A "FUTURE" CEMETERY ? NO ONE. I just told them, "Thank you." and hung up. You should just hang up your dirty socks outside on a tree and call it a Clootie Well. Im sure there is an old book out there from 1892 "Holy Wells of England" denoting which Holy Well this may possibly be. Especially. since the oldest title I've found dates as well as your map.
This makes me think of the Fae folklore that my grandma ( born and raised in Ireland) would tell me about. The other thing is the song, can’t think of the name but it’s like the hole in ground and the trees growing around and around. This is so cool to see.
I had just discovered your channel with that video and it was great. One more subscriber!
Cheers from France
What a great history lesson, thank you.
You’re welcome!
Superb Stephen. Better than anything on the telly! Hope the Canum training is going well!
Thanks! 🙂 Ran 30miles on Friday past without doing myself any damage, not even a blister so feeling confident now!
You should have no problems, we recce'd the last portion of the Malvern Hills Ultra on Saturday, and thankfully the mud no longer has the consistency of porridge, with a bit of luck that towpath will have dried out a bit by the start of April! Might bring you some Squashies for a morale boost on the day
@@user-pk5bg7ow6m Rhubarb and custard flavour please! 😂😂
no problem😃@@StephenJReid
Weather looking good for your run Saturday, might even have a hoofing tailwind!@@StephenJReid
Back in the day the reason for marking location of a thing like this on a map was to protect people from falling into it.
In other words, they didn't keep it a secret to prevent people from falling in, but instead they would warn people about the location with coordinates directions or maps.
Common sense, dude.
Common sense would be to not give people a reason to visit a location that is rarely visited. That’s the one thing we all learned from Instagram during the pandemic. Previously unknown locations suddenly swarmed with curious people. The risk is lower to keep it a secret and ensure fencing is put up.
Great video and good job for sectioning it off so it's not invisible for others 👍
Thanks! Hopefully a fence goes up soon
Absolutely fascinating!!
Thanks!
Keeping in vague is just going to increase the risk of someone getting lost and falling into the hole by trying to look for it not knowing exactly where it is.
No, no it’s not
Totally enjoyed this. Well done.
The ending of the video really wraps up all the loose ends. Thank you for making it safer for the souls who wander into those areas in the future.
Crazy that they left the test holes open. Also odd that there aren't piles of excavated material adjacent to the holes.
Nice way to take your time and show people wells.
Not wells
Great film, I like to do a similar thing on all my hikes and research the local history. We miss so much just passing by.
Thanks! Amazing what you discover by just spending time in an area
Amazing video, thanks Stephen
Really enjoyed this great vid
Thanks! 🙂
A really interesting video thank you 👍
Glad you enjoyed it
very impressed by your research and analysis, with some invaluable help from your correspondent, and for securing the perimeter of these dangerous holes. You would think that some sort of heavy duty covers would make the safest solution but that's beside the point. It seems you have nailed it. You have a new subscriber. Thank you.
What a fascinating video 👍 really enjoyed
Thanks 🙂