GREAT SIEGE TUNNELS
The sieges of the late 18th century led to a network of tunnelled defences being excavated in the Rock to allow the mountain of a prototype gun, the first ever able to fire downwards. This tunnel was the first to be excavated on the Upper Rock in 1782. The labyrinth of tunnels inside the Rock of Gibraltar formally known as"the Upper Galleries", is perhaps the most ingenious defence system devised by man. At the end of the Great Siege in 1783, the defeated Commander of the French and Spanish troops, the Duc de Crillon, on being shown the fortifications that had led to the defeat of his troops commented, "These works are worthy of the Romans". This comment highlights the ingenuity of those men who, against all odds endured the onslaught of the advancing forces and were still able to devise a unique system of defence which afforded them victory.
The sieges of the late 18th century led to a network of tunnelled defences being excavated in the Rock to allow the mountain of a prototype gun, the first ever able to fire downwards. This tunnel was the first to be excavated on the Upper Rock in 1782. The labyrinth of tunnels inside the Rock of Gibraltar formally known as"the Upper Galleries", is perhaps the most ingenious defence system devised by man. At the end of the Great Siege in 1783, the defeated Commander of the French and Spanish troops, the Duc de Crillon, on being shown the fortifications that had led to the defeat of his troops commented, "These works are worthy of the Romans". This comment highlights the ingenuity of those men who, against all odds endured the onslaught of the advancing forces and were still able to devise a unique system of defence which afforded them victory.