It appears that passing time at one's residence due to the lockdown prompted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic could lead to some unusual discoveries, if the story of one resident of Plymouth, Devon named Jake Brown is any indication.
According to the Daily Star, while doing some work at his newly purchased home, Brown noticed that the texture of one of the walls looked a bit different from the others.
Intrigued, he proceeded to create an opening large enough to stick his head in and, to his amazement, discovered a sizeable "cavern" beneath his residence.
"While having a lazy coffee standing outside the basement front door of the property I noticed a patch in the wall of a texture different to the rest", Jake said. "I also noted that the patch was the same distance from the coal cellar already exposed, currently used for storage. Curiosity and a little boredom got the better of me, after which I grabbed a drill and began working pilot viewing holes into the wall. Once I had made two holes, one for viewing, one for a torch, I peered through into the dark dusty expanse and realised that it was another cavern of sorts."
Brown's subsequent search of the underground space he uncovered yielded a veritable "hidden time capsule of items including paint cans and an old newspaper that proved the tunnel had been blocked up for more than 50 years", the media outlet notes.
As local historian Richard Fisher explained, the "cavern" discovered by Brown appears to be an old coal cellar.
"These early cellars, this one looks to be for coal, were built out not only underneath the pavement but out into the road. The load on the roads would have been much lighter than now", he said as quoted by the newspaper. "I have seen these places turned into wine cellars, a place to grow mushrooms, and if big enough, a 'grotto' type bathing area."