Forgotten Cold War apocalypse bunker rediscovered underneath centuries-old citadel
Archaeologists have unearthed a lost Cold War nuclear bunker hidden beneath Scarborough Castle’s medieval grounds after being sealed for nearly 60 years
A video grab showing the Cold War bunker discovered at Scarborough Castle(Image: Jam Press/English Heritage)
A secret underground nuclear bunker designed to survive the end of the world has been unearthed beneath a historic British fortress after being lost for nearly six decades.
The Cold War relic, hidden within the grounds of the medieval Scarborough Castle in North Yorkshire, had been sealed and forgotten since 1968.
The concrete tomb has now been located once again thanks to an archaeological mission by English Heritage.
Designed to house volunteers from the Royal Observer Corps (ROC), the cramped space was part of a terrifying nationwide network. Measuring just 15ft by 7ft, the bunker was intended to protect three people as they mapped Soviet nuclear strikes across the UK.
Occupants would have been packed inside with enough rations to last a fortnight while the world above faced total destruction.
While websites have long speculated the bunker was buried somewhere between the castle walls and the North Sea, its exact coordinates remained a mystery until now.
Kevin Booth, of English Heritage, said that while the bunkers were scattered across the country, most Brits walked past them without a clue.
He said: “Wherever you lived in Britain you were probably no more than a few miles from an ROC post. Yet few people knew they existed.
“This headland has been an observation post for thousands of years, from a Bronze Age settlement to a Roman signal station, medieval castle, WWI gun battery and, here, a 1960s concrete bunker watching for Armageddon.”
Teams used ground-penetrating radar to find the bunker, which was submerged in six feet of water.
Despite the flooding, the site still holds relics of the era, including a bomb indicator to measure pressure waves and a pinhole camera designed to record nuclear flashes.
Mr. Booth added: “We’re finding a physical connection with the memories of the ROC, who tell me about these spaces, who tell me that they’re cold, who tell me they used to get fish and chips in instead of eating the rations.”
Lead archaeologist John explained that while the bunker is “modern” by archaeological standards, they still had to play detective.
By using a single historic photograph taken just before the site was cleared and combining it with new geophysical scans, they were able to “re-geolocate” the entrance.
The project, which marks 100 years of the ROC, was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Helen Featherstone of the fund said the find “shines a spotlight” on the vital work of those who stood ready to protect the UK during its darkest hours.
Experts now hope to drain the 60-year-old floodwater so that visitors can eventually step inside the claustrophobic space where volunteers once prepared for the end of days.
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