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Mysterious tunnels or "secret passages" are a common element of the local folklore tradition in the United Kingdom and the European continent. In Norwegian a secret tunnel-like passage is called a "lønngang" (lønn = "hidden / secret", and gang = passage) and in Swedish a "lönngång". Such tunnels are said to physically link prominent places such as country houses, castles, churches, ancient monuments and other, often medieval, buildings. Legends about the existence of secret tunnels usually involve improbably long subterranean passages, sometimes running under major obstacles such as rivers and lakes to reach their destinations. Religious buildings, monks and the landed gentry are particularly common elements in many tunnel stories. It is unlikely that many of the recorded tunnels exist physically, for this is a characteristic of their very nature; their significance lies in why so many similar legends of tunnels have arisen and in connection with the more esoteric notions of channels or paths of earth energy, and such.〔 == The origins of secret passage myths == Underground structures have a fascination due to their being hidden from view and their contents, purpose, extent and destinations remaining unknown. Over the centuries many underground structures have been discovered by chance, ranging from Cornish Fogous, souterrains that are possibly Pictish, Roman and medieval sewers to smuggling tunnels, escape tunnels, siege tunnels, and the like. On occasion, possible tunnels prove to be of purely natural origin, such as at Cleeves Cove cave in Scotland, or Kents Cavern in England. The site at Cleeves Cove cave was previously known as the 'Elfhouse' or 'Elfhame',〔Paterson, James (1863-66). ''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton''. V. - III - Cunninghame. J. Stillie. Edinburgh. p. 140.〕 the locals at that time believing that elves had made it their abode.〔Dobie, James D. (ed Dobie, J.S.) (1876). ''Cunninghame, Topographized by Timothy Pont'' 1604–1608, with continuations and illustrative notices. Pub. John Tweed, Glasgow. P. 125.〕〔Ness, J. A. (1969 - 70). ''Landmarks of Kilwynnyng''. Privately printed. p. 31.〕 Rarely, natural caves or tunnel systems can be of great extent; the cave system with the greatest total length of passage is Mammoth Cave (Kentucky, USA) at in length, whilst the next most extensive known cave is Jewel Cave near Custer, South Dakota, USA, at .〔(World’s Longest Caves List from The National Speleological Society )〕 Some castles really did have escape tunnels,〔(Hidden East Anglia - Necton. )〕 such as the short one located at Loudoun Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland, which leads from the old kitchens to a 'tunnel-like' bridge over the Hag Burn. Others examples were longer: the young king Edward III was imprisoned by Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March at Nottingham Castle, and in 1330 a small group of armed supporters of Edward III made use of a long, winding secret passage which led directly into the castle, allowing them to surprise and capture Mortimer.〔(Ian Mortimer: The Perfect King: introduction )〕 Other tunnels are products of an excessive desire for personal privacy, such as at Welbeck Abbey and Brownlow Castle. Another tunnel allowed for the supposed free and secret movement of monks, abbots and other ecclesiastics who may have had cause to keep a low profile for fear of attack or abusive treatment during periods of unrest or persecution.〔 Smugglers at times avoided the excise man by making use of drains, sewers or water supply conduits, although in a few cases they seem to have constructed tunnels for the purpose of smuggling. Bruce Walker, an expert on Scottish vernacular architecture, has suggested that the relatively numerous and usually long-ruined ice houses on country estates may have led to Scotland's many tunnel legends. The appearance of ice house entrance could have prompted the unitiated to make such deductions since ice houses are often inconspicuously located in such places as ha-ha walls, house and stable basements, woodland banks, and open fields.〔Walker, Bruce (1978). ''Keeping it cool.'' Scottish Vernacular buildings Working Group. Edinburgh & Dundee. Pages 564-565〕 Many legends are associated with the actual and supposed activities of the Knights Templar and they are rich in stories about tunnels connecting the various properties that the order possessed up to the 12th century, when it was suppressed.〔(Castle Mysteries. )〕 Sigmund Freud, Carl Gustav Jung and others had various psychological interpretations of the symbolic meanings of tunnels and these may have a part to play in the origins of tunnel myths. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tunnels in popular culture」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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