Tunnelling Through the Ages

History has seen the evolution of tunnelling starting with cave formation, for water management, underground transportation, mineral extraction and for warfare purposes. The oldest reference of a tunnel was in Persia where tunnels were built to connect wells called 'qanats' that provided a reliable supply of water in hot, arid and semi-arid climates. The deepest known qanat is in the Iranian city of Gonabad, which after 2,700 years, still provides water for drinking and agriculture purposes to nearly 40,000 people.

Initially, crude tools like chisels, hammers, spades and shovels, were used. But with increasing modernization, the civil engineering tunnelling technology has progressed by leaps and bounds. This is being realized through advancements in geological and hydro-geological engineering, tunnel design, capacity, construction methods, speed and maintenance during operations, and safety during construction and operations getting integrated in all aspects.

Historical evolution of tunnelling

In civil engineering application for tunnels, the need for revenue generation and meeting the objectives has led to manifold changes in tunnelling, but some fundamentals still remain unchanged. For example, the cut-and-cover method (that involves digging a deep trench, constructing a roof at an appropriate height and covering the trench) has its first reported use in 2000 BC in Babylon and is still employed in modern-day construction.