| Entry: Chati�re originally posted by Slim Jim [last edit 12/8/2009 8:51 PM by 10guy - edited 1 times] |
| A chatière is a hole dug by explorers to gain access to a location, usually underground. The word was coined by French underground quarry explorers, known as cataphiles, and technically means "cat trap." France, most of all the Ile-de-France (Paris and its suburbs), is full of underground quarries, mostly limestone quarries. Under Paris proper, the powers-that-be often block a quarry passage with several layers of cinder blocks, in order to block cataphiles from passing through. Cataphiles often dig chatières around these blockages, which can take months. Typically, cataphiles will dig chatières to access previously unexplored territory, but occasionally they will dig one as a shortcut between two areas which are geographically close but would otherwise require a long, roundabout walk to get between. Action Squad and others have carried the concept of chatières over to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. In the sandstone under these cities, a handful of chatières have been dug to access previously inaccessible tunnels. This website shows pictures of chatières. Although these are numbered, most chatières are named after the location they lead to, for example Chatière du Val de Grace. http://catacombes....reesChatieres.html an other example http://www.youtube...atch?v=nJbY6D8ObEk |
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