Ancient Nottingham caves part of plan to regenerate city

The new ‘City of Caves’ project will see researchers exploring historical records and creating 3D laser scans

IMAGE: Deyan Design.

University of Nottingham archaeologists and historians have launched a project designed to bring Nottingham’s 1,000-year-old underground caves to life as part of a wider regeneration of the city’s Broadmarsh area.

The caves were used as dwellings, workplaces, and storage spaces for centuries, and the new ‘City of Caves’ project (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council) will see researchers exploring historical records and creating 3D laser scans to produce an immersive, virtual-reality caves experience.

IMAGE: Heatherwick Studio.

‘We’re very excited to start this project and hope our input in the regeneration will put Nottingham firmly on the map as a centre of historical interest like York or Chester,’ said Dr Chris King, from the department of Classics and Archaeology. ‘The caves will be a major focus of our work as we will be advising the developers on new ways to present the Broad Marsh’s history to residents and visitors.’