civil engineering

Right Five aqueducts carry the Swansea Canal across major tributaries of the River Tawe. This is the now dry Twrch Aqueduct, showing the thick double sided walls once used to retain its water.

The Swansea Canal: Navigating the history of an industrial artery

In 1789, an opinion column in The Times hailed Britain’s canal-building achievements as a matter of national pride – contrasting them with the revolutionary turmoil in France. Aristocrats and entrepreneurs were losing their heads across the Channel, while in Britain they were busy building and funding a canal network that would serve the rapid growth of the nation as an industrial power. In his new book on the Swansea Canal, Stephen Hughes looks in detail at the archaeology and history of one such pioneering enterprise, as Chris Catling reports.

The Past

Bridges Quiz

Built 6,000 years ago, the Neolithic timber trackways known as the Sweet Track and the Post Track are among Britain’s earliest known bridges. In which county can they be found?

Right Access to the tunnels and pipes built beneath Exeter was gained by means of openings such as this mid 14th century ‘manhole’, with footholes sunk into the stone lined shaft.

Underground Exeter: water for the city

Everyone has heard of the aqueducts of Rome, but what about those of Medieval Exeter? Professor Mark Stoyle is on a mission to make them better known, as Chris Catling reports.