The giant archive hidden under the British countryside

[@TomScottGo]

I'm worried, as ever, that this will seem like an advert. That's always a risk visiting somewhere that's got a lot of security around it! But to be clear, I've wanted to film here for years, every word I'm saying is mine and mine alone, and this isn't sponsored (beyond actually letting me into the facility)!

[@lovelylipbonesouwwwwwwwolv2198]

Nice vid

[@erencicikus]

but it doesnt

[@wembleyford]

Not at all, Tom. I, for one, am glad to know that in the event of a nuclear war, Laura Ashley will survive to assist in the national reconstruction. Great video as always. Only wish we knew what the secret stuff down there was :)

[@Taaaamas]

I can't say this feels like an advert at all, I haven't really got that impression before nor here.

[@olly_1558]

I know what I have to do, Sam. The ring was entrusted to me. It's my task, mine, my own!

[@antisocial-gamer7293]

I would never have thought that a highstreet clothing store was archiving stuff in a used mine deep underground

[@lonestarr1490]

The world is full of things we would never have thought of.

[@mandywalkden-brown7250]

Er, in a still functioning mine.

[@max_kl]

Either it's really cheap or some people are willing to pay a lot for 100 yr old clothes...

[@pintpullinggeek]

In the same way that you are (I assume) a nerd for games, some people are nerds for clothes and design and they want to preserve their collections as best they can like every nerd in the world.

[@paokarasre]

would never have* , would of is nonsensical.

[@FiXato]

This reminded me of my visit to the salt mines of Wieliczka, Poland. Absolutely gorgeous what they did in those, with statues made out of salt along the corridors, and even an entire underground cathedral, complete with salt crystal chandeliers. If I ever get the chance again, I'd love to revisit that place. Not in the least to smell that easy to breathe salty air again

[@saoirsedeltufo7436]

Absolutely stunning place. The statue of Casimir is amazing

[@nathanc2k9]

Ah, I’m gutted as I was in Krakow recently but never ended up having the time to visit the salt mines you mentioned. Maybe next time.

[@friedchickenUSA]

i was there too. id live in a salt mine.

[@FiXato]

@@nathanc2k9 I'm still a bit disappointed I didn't pay the additional fee to be allowed to take photographs. Then again, the dinky digital camera I had at the time probably wouldn't have made good pictures anyway...

[@berni_schmorg]

I went there during school! absolutely amazing! i bought overpriced as HELL salt in the shop!

[@newq]

There's another facility like this in Kansas, but they do daily public tours of the mine and the archives. They've got a bunch of interesting things on display including famous movie props. Highly recommended. Interestingly, it still smells like the ancient ocean that formed the salt deposit down there, which is the most surreal thing. Being hundreds of feet underground in Kansas and you smell the ocean.

[@tiptoetumbly]

Stratica in Hutchinson KS is highly recommended!

[@newq]

@@tiptoetumbly *Strataca

[@julirehugstrees]

I live very near to Stratica and can't recommend it enough. It is also a live salt mine and Dirty Jobs did an episode there.

[@zevfarkas5120]

"Toto, I've a feeling..."

[@phi9121]

I live in the town above that, it's always really interesting to think that 600 feet beneath you there's (or at least at some was) people, working, and that they just did that, every day.

[@Van-Leo]

sometimes i just go blank faced and wide eyed when i think about how everything exists all at once independently equally as visceral as anything i have experienced and will never experience. all of the objects ive ever owned and lost are still out there, or at least their matter is, the atoms that held them never stopped existing. everything in that vault is the exact feeling i am describing.

[@lulumoon6942]

3 brain surgeries cured me of this condition.

[@lbanepa]

Atoms ur brains are made of may very well been t rex balls at some point in time

[@jay-d8g3v]

@@lulumoon6942 lmao

[@Soggytent]

Well said

[@edherdman9973]

That's your moment of Satori (per Zen). Enjoy!

[@NextianGeometry]

Out of all the possibilities of who could invite Tom Scott to make a video about a vast subterranean archive in a salt mine, I would never have guessed "Laura Ashley".

[@ianleithhead]

Those red shirts don't make themselves.

[@imputinandihaveasmallpeepe9165]

It’s wired that the title is about my misses

[@jackb3822]

@@ianleithhead I think you’re on to something.

[@wobblysauce]

It must be a UK thing as I never heard of them.

[@bunceman4613]

@@wobblysauce I'm british and I don't know her either.

[@LPNeogetz]

It's always striking to me to see how stable the salt rock must be that so many salt mines have these massive open rooms and corridors, vs what I think of when imagining a standard mine with narrow tunnels and bracing supports everywhere.

[@bucherwurm5344]

Its like the backrooms down there, you just need to install some buzzing lamps and a wet carpet

[@MrNicoJac]

When I saw Moria in LOTR I was like "nah, no way you could make the stone strong enough for that" Now, I'm wondering if Tolkien ever went into a salt mine...

[@rocbolt]

Depends entirely on the surrounding geology. For instance the salt mine WIPP in New Mexico, that is used to store radioactive waste, was chosen specifically because it lacks this kind of stability. The surrounding forces on the salt layer cause it to always want to flow and slowly close any openings. They have to work continuously to brace and remine the workings while emplacement is happening, but eventually this action will seal off and entomb the material, which is exactly what is wanted.

[@dillonvandergriff4124]

As I understand it, that has less to do with the stability, and more to do with what you're mining. Most metals tend to form in narrow veins, which miners must then follow. Where as salt tends to form in much larger blobs, allowing for larger rooms.

[@nobody8717]

@@dillonvandergriff4124 Additionally, it's easier to recrystallize to be more 'solid' of a blob too.

[@domainofscience]

This is like a level from Goldeneye.

[@Voshchronos]

lmao true

[@vividandlucid]

Or Portal, as Aperture is located in a salt mine

[@hariseldon02]

I was gonna say I want to build my evil genius's lair down there

[@ALocalFolf]

@@vividandlucid Well, these guys did what they must because they could

[@ricky_pigeon]

GTA 5 bunker.

[@zacherybarcoe9219]

Everyone's hometown has that one thing that everyone who lives there knows about and winsford we all grow up learning about the salt mine and deep store, and I'm so glad Tom has finally been able to make a video about it, showing the world our little towns big story

[@matty__sharpe__]

i know. as someone who lives in winsford too, this makes me happy!

[@Davemon115]

Wild to think that there's a real-world equivalent to how I've been keeping my items organized in Terraria, and as a (primarily digital, admittedly) archivist at heart, I love knowing the purpose these spaces are being used for.

[@BeaChapman]

@@Carlosant A fantastic video game

[@evando2006]

I love how Tom has visited an archive facility and not brought his archivist mate, everybody's favourite Garry Brannan, Gary Brannan along.

[@bloodvue]

I am not sure how you could contain that kind of enthusiasm into one of these videos

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

I imagine Gary might be feeling quite salty about it.

[@GumSkyloard]

@@DomenBremecXCVI Wahey!

[@djnebuchanezzer]

Without gong into too much detail, some of things stored in there are: Antiques Archaeological dig Items Evidence rooms for Greater Machester, Norfolk and Suffolk Police Results from practical scientific experiments The archives from the House of Commons And a lot of other stuff too. What Tom did not mention are 2 things i find quite interesting. The mineshaft is as deep as Blackpool tower is tall and there is over 130 miles of roadway under there, and the machinery and vehicles depending on the size have to be assembled once they are down there, and because it is salt, if they were to ever be brought back to the surface the weather would turn them to rust in no time at all.

[@ke6gwf]

That's very interesting facts about it.

[@dougfowler1368]

Thanks, that's sort of answered my question about a hall of fame versus a museum, and what would be there versus the British museum in London. So, something like the saddle from a king's horse centuries ago could be there as an antique just as easily as in the British museum.

[@djnebuchanezzer]

@@ke6gwf I also forgot that apparently the Crown jewels were stored in there throughout WW2 as well.

[@djnebuchanezzer]

@@dougfowler1368 Would it be possible that they create exact replicas to be shown in museums while the real artefacts would be stored in somewhere like this to preserve them? i dont know about that as i have not heard anything relating to it, its just a thought though.

[@manckrank]

There's also the unmentioned industrial waste storage. Not so much mentioned about that. I don't think it enters at the entrance where Tom was, it on the other side of the river (shown in drone footage). You can see another entrance here: 53.21494104113014, -2.5048619464385715 (Jack Lane) where the Veolia Minosus facility is located. I guess that' doesn't sound so so glamourous.

[@Rei-Rei]

I hope they have a very good indexing system. If there's anything that's misplaced it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack the size of the moon.

[@RonLaws]

or a grain of sand in a salt pile

[@righteousred723]

Or a small thing in a big thing

[@bzqp2]

Or like a box in a salt mine the size of a salt mine.

[@hahanamegobrrr6667]

Or a sheet of paper in a massive archive ...wait

[@samuelfeder9764]

Given the physical dimensions of a box and the mine and a needle and the moon, that comparison seems to be off by roughly 16 orders of magnitude. 😉

[@adamplace1414]

Since Tom mentioned tasting salt in the active areas of the mine, I wonder how hydrated the miners have to be during their shift? I mean they're not going to desiccate or anything, but it would make you awfully thirsty after a while I'd imagine.

[@nathangee7075]

you pick up tips and tricks after a while. i've not worked in salt, but when you get down to it mining is mining. the safety gurus will recommend everyone keep their intake up and probably provide electrolytes, ice, cool rooms etc. i'm guessing they all carry a chapstick at all times too!

[@aussiewanderer6304]

Gives the term 'seasoned employee' a whole new meaning.

[@geordieal]

@@aussiewanderer6304 just need to find a pepper and garlic vein and they’d have the tastiest employees around!

[@molybd3num823]

@@aussiewanderer6304 thank you for the laugh

[@squirlmy]

@@aussiewanderer6304 I imagine their language gets salty after a while... The jokes practically write themselves.

[@theuninspiredpoet]

0:41 Tom looks so happy to ride in the cart! Adorable.

[@DeadEyeJedi]

It says a lot for the respect that you've earned that you get to see awesome places like this. I'll admit to being kind of jealous, but you've definitely earned it.

[@loghanduvall8269]

Not difficult to see this place must admit

[@ShibalNL]

Wow Colin Furze really went all out with his tunnels

[@jaspr1999]

Hell... I can't decide what to keep and what to throw away in my own garage! I do not envy an archivist job, in that respect. However, this archive is a world treasure! I would love to see folks a thousand years from now look through it.

[@max_kl]

easy, keep everything...

[@skiwiwns802]

@@max_kl or throw everything

[@allenfortenberry9924]

There is a similar storage area in the U.S. that is used to house most of the originals from hollywood so things like the actual batman and superman costumes that were worn on sets and things like that are all store in this one massive mine

[@paulosullivan3472]

If it takes so much upkeep to keep it all stored there I wonder if it would actually survive 1000 years in reality.

[@SouthDunedain]

Ex-archivist here… It’s a lot easier to be dispassionate and objective when it’s not your own stuff!

[@MandBTravelAdventures]

I used to be an agency driver for deepstore and I always wondered what it was like down there. Now I know, thanks Tom

[@Bigjobs]

I've been on a tour down there. We got to see the working face as the continuous mining machine was digging away, it was awesome to see. We got to see them putting together the second continuous mining machine (that should let the mine know when this was). They drove us around and showed us the old machinery that was used before the continuous miner was put into action. The American managing director at the time was over and was on that tour also. They obviously don't do public tours, but from what I understand, as I was invited along by a friend and didn't actually know anyone else in the group, it was all arranged as someone in the group had convinced the mine that we were in the market to buy half a million tonnes of salt. I don't know how accurate that part was, but that's what was relayed to me.

[@secretforreddit]

I'm training to be an archivist so this is extra fascinating for me; I can only dream I'll someday get to visit it (or at least something similar, if anything similar exists)!

[@markchinguz4401]

Interesting interest. What made you want to do this?

[@badredraws]

@@markchinguz4401 Gary, clearly

[@userunaemu]

I'm also a bit of an archivist myself. I have 5 year old bottles and cans under my bed.

[@hypergraphic]

Oh cool, what is involved? Did you study history or library science?

[@DoubleAAce]

What a boring job

[@paca_bill4863]

There's a salt mine in Kansas, United States, which functions as an underground archive. Then again, there are old salt mines in Poland where people go for health spa treatments (not the same as the Radon treatment center Tom reported on earlier).

[@djnebuchanezzer]

I wonder if the US based company compass minerals owns the mine in Kansas too, would make sense. They own this one.

[@schooltechnology]

@@djnebuchanezzer The Hutchinson Salt Co that owns the Carey Salt mine in Hutchinson Kansas is a privately owned Kansas company. The salt mine that Compass Minerals runs in Kansas is a brine evaporation extraction operation. It has no rooms to convert, just a brine filled pocket. This type usually gets converted into natural gas storage.

[@frotoe9289]

And the limestone mines in KC are quite well known. As is the 1992 fire that demonstrated why putting all yer eggs in one basket might not be a wise idea.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Incredibly, there are even some salt mines where people mine salt!

[@ilRosewood]

@@a-rod48 Just head down the road to Carriage Crossing for dinner when you are all done

[@mpersad]

What a fascinating video - kudos to Laura Ashley for being so determined to maintain an archive of their most important pieces.

[@chriswilliamson199]

I used to service and repair the generators underground at that salt mine, did they take you out to a side shaft and turn the lights off? Your eyes never adjust, it is total darkness. Did they mention the amount of waste they also store down the mine? They store large 2m square bags of (I think) incineration waste that's not suitable for landfill. That area goes as far as the eye can see. I also remember one of the employees telling me some time ago that there was a suggestion to have a prison down there but it was denied due to the prisoners needing a certain amount of sunlight by law.

[@sypeiterra7613]

A salt mine prison is a terrifying thought

[@cambridgemart2075]

I've been down a few mines (coal, diamond, gold) which are now tourist attractions; one thing they do, without fail, is turn the lights off!

[@Metal_Maoist]

Finally, my Himalayan Salt Lamp licking skills are of use

[@dylantowers9367]

@@cambridgemart2075 I remember (about 20 years ago when I was a little kid) going down one of the Cornish tin mines and they turned to lights off. I've also (far more recently) been down a couple of lava tubes in Hawaii and turned off my torch.

[@Laporch]

I love that Tom gets access to all of these cool locations. It is always nice getting some insight into neat things I didn't know existed.

[@DaimlerSleeveValve]

For those not privileged to get down there, nearby Northwich has two salt museums. One is in the old Workhouse by the A533m the other to the north by the canal at Marston. Both are worth visiting.

[@jamesburton1050]

Do those have a Tom Scott video?

[@worldcomicsreview354]

Archive stuff from the surface in the mines, archive stuff from the mines on the surface!

[@susieshaw2910]

Thanks will go .👍

[@richardyoung3435]

I have been to both of them. The lion salt works museum in Marston tells you all about the history of salt in Cheshire. Definitely worth a visit

[@r5LgxTbQ]

This would probably be a great place for a data center, too. Ground source heat pumps, shielded from cosmic rays

[@lightwaves1859]

was thinking the same thing. i wonder if the active cooling need for computers would agitate the air too much and blow salt into the computers though. might be too much effort to keep the air salt free to the degree where you could reliably run servers for long timespans.

[@0Clewi0]

power source and cooling are likely higher priorities than air humidity.

[@Charlie-js8rj]

The problem with a datacenter is that all of that rock makes for a really good insulator of heat, which datacenters output a *lot* of. You'd either need to add in so much cooling infrastructure to get the heat out of the caves that it would offset any benefits, or you'd melt the servers

[@snowy2419]

Cooling might be more challenging? Do it under water instead! That sheilds lots of radiation

[@gentlebabarian]

It’s very warm underground. It would actually be the worst place. You need lots of energy to cool things down there. It will be nuclear proof though

[@LittleDergon]

this was something I made in a dnd world several years ago and I always thought it would be a great thing to be real if there was a way to keep the rooms dry. amazing that it is a real thing that has solved that issue 😂 awesome video 👍

[@confuseatronica]

did you have archival grade storage box mimics?

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

@@confuseatronica An ancient magical artifact is stored in one of these boxes.

[@DerykRobosson]

Did it become a salt marsh in the end?

[@LexieAssassin]

Where I live here in the US, this is also very common. Some of the caves and mined out salt mines are used for national archives and film reel preservation. Some places work in them. (As I recall, the local electric utility has a data center my dad worked in when I was a very small child.) One place is even a paintball and laser tag arena.

[@FederalCurrencyy]

Playing paintball in an Old mine?? Sign me up!

[@NomTheDom]

Why is that your avatar?

[@FederalCurrencyy]

@@NomTheDom i can say the same for your background??

[@teguhilhami5894]

@@FederalCurrencyy why yes it might be happening to they/them

[@garethjohnstone8662]

I really want to visit Wampum mines in Pittsburgh. Big Day Of The Dead fan.

[@iankemp1131]

I was lucky enough to get the chance to go down the Winsford salt mine in 1982. I was expecting something like a normal coal mine and couldn't believe the vast underground caverns with eight-wheel trucks merrily driving around. Good to see them being put to good use. An amazing place, as are the Polish salt mines with their salt sculptures.

[@Zeppflyer]

I've worked at several old manufacturing firms near Iron Mountain's largest site near Butler, Pennsylvania through various campaigns to minimize onsite storage of drawings going back a century in some cases. It's still always mildly amusing when I hear about something being 'sent to/dug out of the mines'.

[@georgeiii2998]

This takes "digging for information" to a whole 'nother level.

[@TypicallyThomas]

Now we need an underwater archive in a disused research station and we can literally go diving through archives

[@charmio]

Sub-level 1 to be exact.

[@pintpullinggeek]

"Let's go data mining"

[@kothemagica]

you mean hole another level?

[@Brissles]

Whole another?

[@charlieredpath5952]

I have to admit, I was silently waiting for everybody's favourite Garry Brannan - Garry Brannan - to show up at some point

[@An.Individual]

yet another super interesting video from Tom

[@kersjan14]

It is just fantastic how much effort you put in your videos, with the scripts, the fact checking and getting the allowance for such special places. Ty for all your effort, and have a nice day :D

[@mistaecco]

Tom: Access is highly selective, and typically nobody with a camera would ever be allowed inside, with permission being limited to staff, clients and trained archivists. *Smash cut to a very excited looking Gary holding a gardening pickaxe and an ill-fitting helmet*

[@stevegoodier1241]

Somewhat different in the ICI days ...😂

[@coryman125]

I was so hoping for this to happen D: how could Tom make a video about archives without everybody's favourite Gary Brannan, Gary Brannan

[@panda4247]

"Join me on my secret expedition to Noel Edmond's secret underground lair.. of filth"

[@highgardentwo6977]

this actually one of the more fascinating things tom has looked at in recent memory, the asurd concept of archiving stuff in a mine is fantastic

[@3lapsed]

This place is cool. I remember when Brady got to visit some archives down there for Objectivity years ago. Such an ingenious idea to use a salt mine in this way

[@ghfjdkslaghfjdksla]

as an archivist I am salivating at the size and conditions of that space

[@labyrinth6549]

Thanks, Tom! It's great to see the kind of place where our descendents are going to be living in the future. It looks like a nice place, at least. A lot to keep them occupied with during the nuclear winter, and always plenty of seasoning for their MREs.

[@michaeljohnston6811]

Only Tom could get sent to the salt mines and make an informative and entertaining video on the subject

[@mundaygaming4749]

Fun fact - Aperture Science from Portal was built in a old salt mine. Cool huh!

[@daveh7720]

"We do what we must, because we can."

[@TheDaern]

Tom only explored the top level of this mine, you know...

[@zandergibson9478]

@Evi1 M4chine nah they're cancery

[@archerymidnight3422]

@Evi1 M4chine the white walls are white because of moondust iirc

[@WalnutBun]

imagine being an alien archaeologist 10,000 years from now and discovering a room in a salt mine that's just full of wallpapers, dresses, and bowls

[@chintex_]

if they are anything like our archeologist they would categories it as a monumental find

[@1990Judson]

@@chintex_ And if they are like our archeologists they will say it had ceremonial purpose ;)

[@skussy69]

"A great ruler must be buried here" - some alien, probably

[@robbhays8077]

They will assume we worshipped wallpaper and dresses and then categorize civilizations by the type of wallpaper they find in a given area.

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

@@skussy69 Not an unfair assumption given the tailormade dresses ;)

[@MxMattyB]

3:37 "It's really important for us to archive the original physical pieces. So we can really understand, it's those techniques of how they were made. If you scanned that, if you created a digital archive, you would lose that history to that piece." kind of a funny thing to say to someone who burned a sweatshirt on video

[@philmessenger4655]

Its amazing how this gentleman can turn the most mundane things, items, events, or objects into interesting stories. I love his videos

[@dbackscott]

As a geotechnical engineer, I’m extremely interested in this. I would love to know everything there is to know about these mines.

[@TheMarshalMurat]

What kind of geotechical engineer are you?

[@nathangee7075]

clearly the host rock is far more competent than a gold or nickel mine, if i ever saw an opening that large without cablebolts i'd run the other way!

[@danielmahon1589]

as a random joe on the internet i wonder what the feasibility of turning a place like this into a small subterranean city. i really think a place like this could house a few thousand residence comfortably as long as it has a small nuclear power plant as a power source. perhaps put a university in it offer doctorates in geology and nuclear physics.

[@_mels_]

When I heard the word "archive" I immediately expected Gary Brannan in the official archivist suit to appear out of nowhere

[@awmperry]

Oh good, it's not just me.

[@andrerenault]

With white gloves

[@FiXato]

aww... no sighting of everybody's favourite Gary Brannan...

[@lauraireson6358]

@@FiXato Gary Brannan

[@flameperson_]

one must always be prepared

[@pratfallpratt8998]

These places are always fascinating! I'm from Kansas City, where there's a natural network of limestone caves that have been used as commercial storage for decades, and the size of them is truly mind boggling. I also now live halfway between KC and Hutchinson, where there's a salt mine similar to the one here that also has private storage vaults. Supposedly lots of original film reals are stored there, since salt mines are great for storing flammable things and it's deep enough to be fairly disaster-proof. I remember growing up hearing the (admittedly very silly) rumor that Walt Disney's cryogenically frozen corpse was stored in the KC caves.

[@PriceFamPrime]

I've taken my sons to the salt mine in Hutchinson several times. It's called Strataca, and it's amazing. You ride down an old mine elevator in absolute darkness for 600 feet, and then it opens up. Old mining equipment, and even the trash is still there from when the mine stopped in the 1950s. Amazing tours and exhibits. They do store movie props down there, including one of Christopher Reeve's Superman costumes, and props from the Burton version of Batman.

[@phi9121]

@@PriceFamPrime the mines actually didn't stop in the 1950s, it's still active and produces mostly road salt

[@thomdotexe]

these videos are always the perfect joint-rolling time whenever i need smth to watch rolling a joint it's always Tom Scott. luv u

[@TheSJM3001]

Winsford resident here! Great to see the mines and what is in then, deep below my feet! Thanks for visiting Tom.

[@Ian-Everall]

Thanks Tom, I sit on the hillside overlooking this mine quite often, lovely riverside walk, nice to find out a bit more information about my new home town

[@loghanduvall8269]

Is quite a nice walk down the common

[@matty__sharpe__]

@@loghanduvall8269 it is lovely in the summer evenings! i don't really like the fact that mcdonalds is next to it though. alot of rubbish from mcdonalds ends up on it.

[@nessalcj]

We have something much like that in Hutchinson, Kansas, USA. A working salt mine where the mined void is all archive for "Underground Vaults & Storage". But it's also a museum open to the public, Strataca, so you can see handful of artifacts that they store, like movie props and prints, and the retired mining equipment that's been replaced with newer technology.

[@Vin-sv9fm]

I just got hired as an archivist a few months ago, and I can't imagine how cool it is to be able to work in such a cool place like that and my goodness the equipment they have is good compared to the archives in my country. Great video Tom!

[@ettaz]

May I ask what country are you working in? And what kind of school it takes to become an archivist?

[@StephanieCanada]

This is spectacular! I am a vintage seller and to know that this exists is just stunning!!

[@jaimecoburn1339]

I really like the way you present your topics, short and sweet and to the point. Keep up the good work two thumbs up.

[@Mmouse_]

Part of my job is racking installation, maintenance and inspection... And all I can think of when watching this is, which bolt type are you using to bolt the rack footplates to the floor?!

[@lukeybaby45]

I'm fairly sure they are M10 or M12 rawl shields. If I remember I will have a look next time I am down there :)

[@crackwitz]

if those scaffolds, all bolted together, are wider than tall, and they appear to be, I don't think you need to worry too much about that

[@nathangee7075]

if they really wanted to go over the top they could use an airleg and bolt them down with properly long bolts if it's a rock floor. or they could just put in a concrete slab built for purpose and bolt into that like you would in any other location.

[@Mmouse_]

@@nathangee7075 it's probably just me seeing something different and wondering how and why they decided on the choices they did. Is surprising they went with standard M12 through bolts but they are probably just fine.

[@VosperCDN]

I am continually amazed at the places and things Tom gets to visit and film. It seems like a window into (effectively) unknown territory for the majority of us.

[@pavelow235]

true, although highlighting the unknown is hardly a Tom Scott invention.

[@anemoiapolisofficial]

Props to the camera crew for filming good footage in such a dark and unevenly lit place.

[@itsaxZOMBIE]

The massive salt mines of Hutchison Kansas are incredible. They house so much storage for important items and documents. There’s even a museum of Hollywood props and scripts you can tour. So fun ☺️

[@paulhaynes3170]

Another brilliant film ! Thx Scott

[@zzhhcc]

This is fascinating! I would definitely like to learn more about this. Any chance you are familiar with any archivist in your life? Or maybe do you have a favorite one even (everyone does, or so I’ve been told)

[@codpyry]

Ayyyy!

[@ferretyluv]

Gary Brannan is an archivist.

[@sillydrizzy2985]

@@ferretyluv Everyone's favorite Gary Brannan 🙂

[@jackb3822]

… people have favorite archivists?

[@sillydrizzy2985]

@@jackb3822 Maybe not a favourite archivist, but we do have a favorite Gary Brannan (who happens to be an archivist) if you know, you know :-) If you don't know...go back and watch their Technical Difficulties or 2 of These People are Lying series...does not disappoint. some of the best belly laughs I've had

[@JaquesBobè]

I swear UK is a Legend of Zelda map, and Tom keeps discovering new and new hidden locations.

[@majeddraws5104]

You should be proud of your country! I wish mine puts 10% of your efforts into Archiving and protecting our history!

[@grog159]

Based, true and real

[@Mark.Taylor.]

Where?

[@tams805]

@Demon Slayer Geez, you lot never have a light moment, do you?

[@papertoye]

This is where I will store my internet history. Thanks Tom.

[@Rogue368]

Amazing! I’m a huge vintage Laura Ashley fan and did not expect to learn more about the brand in a Tom Scott video!

[@GmodPlusWoW]

This is like a treasure trove for the future. Imagine coming down here centuries later, discovering secrets lost to modern civilization... Also, as a side-note, this mine is giving me vague Backrooms vibes.

[@ObjectsInMotion]

That's the great part about an Archive, now these things will never have the chance to become "lost secrets"!

[@NeilStudd]

"...And it would appear that this Queen Laura Ashley reigned over these lands for some two hundred years."

[@RWBHere]

And one fission bomb or fusion bomb would destroy all of it in an instant.

[@ObjectsInMotion]

@@RWBHere no it wouldn’t, it’s too far underground and the rooms are shielded from each other.

[@platogkrone7161]

@@ObjectsInMotion Well, technically it depends greatly on the force, shape and height of the blast. A surface-detonation of the Tsar Bomba would vaporise most of the _mine,_ not just the archive.

[@brentmakes]

I got a "Warehouse 13, but in real life" vibe from this place, although they probably don't store any objects that can be neutralized with purple goo.

[@loimabean]

I don't think I've ever naturally come across a Warehouse 13 reference in all my time on the internet. Glad to know I'm not the only one!

[@Elmojomo]

@@loimabean I was just thinking the same thing! I miss that show, as goofy as it was, especially towards the end.

[@youtuberstatistics]

It's fascinating that a working salt mine can also act as an archive for government documents.

[@ruben307]

I assume with it being still working and Salt dust getting blown into the air it might even help against moisture. I wonder if it will be harder or easier once the mining is further away or stopped.

[@schooltechnology]

@@ruben307 In Hutchinson KS, the airflow around the active mine face areas is separate from both the museum and the archive facility.

[@gaius_enceladus]

Wow - awesome! As a New Zealander, I'm sooo envious of the UK's geology! It's sooo old, enabling you to find awesome fossils - ammonites, trilobites, mosasaurs, dinosaurs. Very little of that kind of thing here.

[@mreddy6920]

As always you deliver it as it is. Thank you.

[@lorenzmaut3708]

This reminds me of Akira that the government used a space in the underground with a extremely low temperature and it was underground, i imagine that they could have used a salt mine because it helps a lot in keeping everything preserved and it has enough space for the facilities. I imagine it's extremely easy to build a bunker inside that place and keep it like that forever.

[@blurds]

This video insalts me

[@MrMorganEnjoyer]

Hehe

[@keyboardmanjosh]

This shoot was awesome, only thing missing is everybody’s favorite Gary Brannan! “Archivist gear engaged!”

[@ianig9]

Incredible. I had no idea.

[@dirtyhenri5005]

Thank you for showing us this amazing place

[@kalebbruwer]

So there's a secretive facility operating in a salt mine... Any portal guns?

[@patpierce4854]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👍

[@MyDogCarla]

No, but there is a small army of mantis men

[@floramew]

Oh, that's incredible! I'll have to look into historic salt mining methods/ etc, bc I think, depending on what level of tech is required to make this kind of salt mine, this could be a fantastic addition to my fantasy world building

[@mralistair737]

given that is started in the 18th century, not much probably

[@tsbrownie]

How do they keep the salt dust out of the archives? Salt/chlorine is about as bad a natural corrosive as there is. Seems at odds with long term preservation (unless it's salted fish/beef).

[@Elmojomo]

They mentioned that the floors are planed and painted, and there's no active mining in the vicinity. Salt is a stone (sorta), so it's not like the walls just randomly give off salt dust or vapor or anything, unless something disturbs them.

[@kanedaku]

Amazing. I'd love to visit there. Stunned that it was Laura Ashley who invited you. To the question of storing 'things', I would have guessed a lot of other things before I got to fabric.

[@logicandlaughs]

Fascinating!!! Thank you for this!

[@notelliot8457]

While this is so cool and amazing that it exists in its own right, that brief shot of the map made me realize how similar the architecture is to the backrooms. Especially seeing the drywall inserted into the natural cavern walls made me think of the Kane Pixels series.

[@majestic9434]

very true, and its probably massive so it would feel unending

[@stonksmaestro1862]

@@majestic9434 600 million square miles, in fact

[@154Kilroy]

Imagine how happy the scientists that discover this in a couple of thousand years will be.

[@justin.booth.]

I bet everybody's favourite Gary Brannan Gary Brannan was jealous you got to visit this Tom!

[@garybrannan6105]

I've already been!

[@Rhinozherous]

Another interesting inside look! Thank you very much for your work!

[@archiefalkmaar]

Great video! The stuff in our archive is above ground but also very safe. The only salt in our archive can by found in the restaurant ;-)

[@ReptilianLepton]

Maybe someday you can do the same at Iron Mountain in the US... mind-bogglingly massive facility.

[@weswheel4834]

Is that the same as Iron Mountain here? (UK). There's a company here called Iron Mountain, they're probably bigger in the US and may not even be related, but just wondered.

[@seraphina985]

@@weswheel4834 Yes Iron Mountain (UK) Ltd is their subsidiary well one of their subsidiaries anyway they have quite a few.

[@andyginterblues2961]

There's a place alongside route 9W in the Hudson Valley of upstate N.Y. between Highland and Kingston that was considered for a government records archive like Iron Mountain. It's a fairly large cavern that was blasted out of solid rock. One end is open, and there are stone pillars that support the ceiling, which must have taken some skill to have been left intact during the blasting. I heard that when the Iron Mountain site was decided upon as the location for the federal archive, the project in N.Y. was abandoned. If you travel north from Highland in the autumn when it's not hidden by foliage, you can see the place through the trees as you look to the right side of the highway. There's no fence around the place, at least there wasn't when I visited in the mid 1970's, while attending college in New Paltz.

[@nagasako7]

Whenever someone brings up Astroids dooms day scenarios, atleast US has so much mine facilities to start operation to save hundreds of thousands of lives for decade underground like movie Deep Impact

[@DavidKnowles0]

@@nagasako7 I could imagine in such a scenario this mine would quickly be converted into a shelter, we with the nightingale hospitals how quickly things can be built. Who knows, may be part of it has already.

[@RC-1290]

When I visited the Asse II saltmine on a school trip a bunch of years ago (when that was still an option), they told me that the salt keeps moving slowly, and that they had to regularly reshape the ceilings. Wouldn't that be an issue for something like this?

[@lukeybaby45]

doesn't seem to be an issue, it's been operating for something like 150 years. I've been going down there for 22 now and nothing has shifted :)

[@nathangee7075]

if they were really concerned the geotech engineers would run a scheduled monitoring program, plus they probably have some sort of seismic system on site. the ground is obviously fairly competent, you don't tend to get voids and intersections that large in gold or nickel mining for example.

[@sundhaug92]

Bit surprised you didn't have everyones favorite Gary Brannan, Gary Brannan, in this

[@Lulu-jl5zd]

Amazing... well done Tom!

[@MTulak]

Super cool. I love Tom Scott videos like this

[@frod0r]

Are there any tape recorders down there? ...Or Panoptici?

[@das8.kapitel260]

Of course there are. What else would be there

[@pintpullinggeek]

Anyone else feel like Tom is giving us subtle hints about where to go if the Zombie Apocalyse happened?

[@excrutiated]

George romero shot day of the dead in a salt mine archive

[@DavidKnowles0]

I wonder if the worst happen, how many people could safely shelter in that mine, an have room for things like growing food and water.

[@rasta77-x7o]

Hell no, enclosed space? One person turns and everyone is stuffed. High up and open spaces with clear viewing is the go, good fencing etc. Maybe for Nuclear winter or an Asteroid.

[@paperbagfilms]

For zombies, the best regions are mountains. The Rockies in BC Canada would be good. Besides, mountains generally have lots of vicious wildlife 😎

[@edmundblackaddercoc8522]

Is that box from raiders of the lost ark there?

[@rhysicles01]

This is my home town! im from winsford!! the salt mine is a major part of the town's identity and history

[@TexanMechanicus]

Tom has the best job in the world, I wish I could do this every week.

[@RealBradMiller]

But, you missed the best part! You didn't even show th- *Gets tackled by Deepstore security*

[@loghanduvall8269]

No security down there bud

[@RealBradMiller]

@@loghanduvall8269 Thanks, I'll change it to a Lara Ashley archivist, then maybe it'll sound like a joke...

[@loghanduvall8269]

@@RealBradMiller good lad

[@Campfire_Bandit]

I had the thought while listening to the mine conditions, is there any evidence of salt mines being used as an archive or preservation in history? Particularly anything ancient or in antiquity.

[@RWBHere]

Salt was known to be an excellent preservative before most of the Bible was written, so it would be very surprising if nothing was preserved in this way.

[@ericvaninwegen6384]

If you see a crate with a drawing of the Ark of the Covenant on it, _don't_ _open_ _the_ _crate_ !

[@vickywitton1008]

Love your videos Scott, keep making them!

[@Duncan2201]

I did not see where that was going! I really appreciate Laura Ashley for inviting you along because that was super interesting.