Articles in Bunkers
Noah’s Ark or Noah’s Bunker?
Even a layperson like myself knows that for our entire planet to be underwater for 40 days is impossible. For a flood to even reach the 5,000 metre height of Mt Ararat is also impossible. This is one of the few things the 2012 movie got wrong. The big news this week is the dating of the timber supposedly found on Mt Ararat by Noah’s Ark Ministries International (ie not real archaeologists, and they have a strong motive for faking the whole thing). The date given is 2800BC, which would date it to the time of Noah’s flood.
Blogger Todd Price gives these reasons for why it wouldn’t be Noah’s Ark:
1. They claim that radiocarbon dates the wood to 4800 years before present, but the Ark was constructed of pre-Flood wood, which would mean that the carbon dating should be much, much older. 2. The modern “Mt. Ararat” (Agri …
Bunker for Sale of the Week
Not really. But really, there are websites that sell bunkers. If you have the cash (or a stupid bank that will give a 2012er a 20-year mortgage), you can attain a survival spot via little effort.
This one is unusual in that it is above ground, but seems to be an ex-government facility.
This house is not fancy or elegant but it is a great start for a true survivalist on a budget
See the listing over at Survival Realty
Bunker Guidelines for Victoria, Australia
Sorry for a post with only value to my local area – but for us here it is important.
As horrible as last year’s bush fires were, on the bright side they have given rise to people wishing to do more to protect themselves. The current trend is one that dovetails in well with 2012ers – a bunker. Obviously a fire bunker is not as sophisticated as what a 2012er might build – you are unlikely to be in a fire bunker more than a couple of hours, and all it needs to withstand is fire.
Highlighting the new trend (and it’s real, a close friend has just installed a fire bunker), the Victorian Government has released interim guidelines [PDF] that cover safety standards for bushfire bunkers.
Anyone wishing to install a bunker will need to get a building permit from a surveyor, as well as the approval of a qualified fire engineer. …
Fireproof concrete for bunker construction
Not the most sizzling headline, but may just save you from being sizzled. Ready for public consumption just prior to 2012…
The geopolymer, developed by William Rickard and a team from Curtin University of Technology, can withstand temperatures of over 1600oC for at least an hour – heat that would rip through regular walls.
The super concrete can also defend us from less natural types of fire – its resilience makes it ideal bomb shelter material. In addition to scorching flames, the geopolymer can withstand almost three times more pressure than run-of-the-mill concrete. To put it into perspective, you could stack 8,000 tonnes (that’s about 5,000 Ford Falcons [a large Aussie car]) on a square metre of this stuff and it still wouldn’t crack. There has also been a lot of research to suggest that geopolymers can provide protection from radiation, which will be handy if we ever face nuclear war.
…it will …
DIY Bunker – Not So Difficult After All?
The thing about bunkers and survival shelters is that anything is better than nothing (unless your design causes a cave-in or suffocation…)
Here’s a great example of how all you need is a little time, a little cash, some basic skills and a backyard:
$500 for an old fuel tank
a hole to sit it in
pile some dirt on top, add a retaining wall
install a door and steps
accessorize!
Full story
Protect Your Bunker From Earthquakes
For surviving 2012, a bunker is your #1 bet. If you design it well, and locate it well, it is almost perfect:
on a clear hill, with nothing that can fall on top of it
far enough from the coast to be safe from the tallest tsunami
deep enough in the ground to be safe from radiation
sealed and filtered
a safe distance from volcanoes
hidden from humans
Possibly the hardest to protect yourself from is earthquakes, which can happen anywhere, and in a SHTF scenario could occur everywhere. Researchers might have found an effective, and maybe even cost-effective earthquake barrier:
Researchers say they have found a way to make buildings essentially invisible to earthquakes. If perfected, the technique could protect skyscrapers and homes alike from even the most devastating temblors.
Earthquakes, sunlight, and radio all share a common factor: They propagate via waves. The only difference is that earthquake waves are so powerful–their energy can equal several …
Rogem Hiri / Gilgal Refaim
I had not heard of this site before today, so I’m guessing a good few of yourselves haven’t either. It deserves more recognition, for it has a lot of interesting features:
as old as Stonehenge
concentric circles, just like Atlantis
immense size
astronomical alignments
a bunker in the middle, perhaps
Rogem Hiri (“Mound of the Wild Cat”) is the Arabic name for this site, and Gilgal Refaim* (“Wheel of Refaim”) is the Hebrew name. It is situated in the Golan Heights (Israeli occupied Syria) , 16 kms east of the Sea of Galilee, in the middle of a large plateau (32.908388°N 35.800581°E). Nearby there are also hundreds of dolmens.
It is made from an estimated 42,000 basalt rocks. There is no mystery as to how they built it, but it would’ve been quite an effort. The four concentric rings range from 50m in diameter and 1.5m wide for the innermost, to 150m in diameter and 3.2m …
Urkesh Palace Pit = Bunker?
Those who have followed my thoughts probably know that my first instinct when I learn of an ancient subterranean structure is “bunker!”. It’s not a bad hypothesis, but very hard to prove. The problem is that the use as a bunker perhaps only lasted a few generations, and neglected to leave evidence – whereas subsequent uses may have been for longer, and left more evidence. A bunker that succeeded would most likely be emptied afterwards, and anything not removed, if at all, was likely to be organic or pottery. To put it bluntly, no bones.
Reading Archaeology magazine, July/Aug 2008, page 50, I found this, about a pit found next to Urkesh Palace, a pit that pre-dates the palace:
“unusual stone-lined pit… The pit’s large underground room has a square antechamber facing west and a deep circular pit… it was originally covered with a roof and had a single, easily closed …
Cycle Up Some Electricity in a Bunker
Makes no sense to me, but I keep on finding the same factoid:
With the electricity produced by an hour of pedaling, we could light a 100-watt incandescent bulb for an hour.
Or, in other words, one cents worth of electricity. Granted, a 20-watt bulb has some value, and an hour of stationary cycling would keep it running for 5 hours.
If you find yourself in a post-SHTF scenario, please please please place some effort into creating some passive energy. Think windmill, river turbine, solar, steam… Don’t pedal, because burning the food you ate to generate that pedal-power, would most likely create more electricity, without pedaling . And you wouldn’t be so tired, or embarrassed.
Seed Vaults
Previously I have mentioned the amazing seed vault in Norway, that seemingly offers plants a better chance of surviving a cataclysm than humans have.
Other places to find species kept safe include:
Native Seeds – 2000 plant varieties in Tucson, USA.
Ambrose Monell Cryo Collection – houses a million frozen tissue samples representing the DNA of a wide range of animal species. Located in New York City.
Millennium Seed Bank Project – large underground frozen vaults in West Sussex, UK, preserving the world’s largest collection of seeds. Now has over 1 billion seeds stored. Aiming to cover 24,000 species of plants, approximately 10% of all existing dry land flora.
Bunker for Sale in UK
Up for auction on Dec 16 is:
A nuclear bunker, with 2ft thick concrete walls and massive steel doors, is set to go under the hammer with a guide price of £240,000- £260,000 at a public sale.
…The site, a redundant Victorian reservoir, was built in countryside near Winchester as a survival pod in the Cold War to withstand a nuclear blast that would wipe out civilisation.
…“This is not your average property, what with blast-proof fittings, a chute for ejecting people in an emergency, air filters and independent power and water supplies.”
If I was planning my 2012 survival in the UK, I’d be very interested. Instead I shall buy a lottery ticket devoted to this bunker, and should I win, use the proceeds to enable some UK 2012ers to use it.
Ark II – Before its time?
Ark II, located in Ontario, is an extraordinary network of 42 old buses, welded together and buried in a pit, to create a massive survival bunker. Construction began in 1980. Creator Bruce Beach is interviewed by CANOE:
Ark II sits under farmland — 42 buried buses, all connected to form a 929-square-metre bunker. They are covered with at least 2.4 metres of earth, as well as concrete.
The site has long been a thorn in the side of provincial officials, who conduct regular raids and safety inspections. They’d like it wiped off the map.
…The floor is a patchwork of degrading linoleum and worn wood, along with concrete.
“Much like a sub,” says Bruce. “A lot of people can’t handle the claustrophobia.”
Contractors hired to do work sometimes refuse to venture down into the vehicular cavern.
Beige paint peels and blisters from the walls of some of the buses, exposing the truer green underneath.
Dozens and dozens …
"Doomsday Ark" – Planned for the Moon
The seed bunker in Norway has been taken a step further, with plans being laid for an information bank buried on the moon, in 2020 and hopefully sooner (although it seems unlikely to be achieved prior to Dec 2012).
It would contain hard discs holding information such as
- DNA sequences- instructions for metal smelting – instructions for planting crops
The clever aspect is that it would transmit the data to Earth – no need for us to go back up there to retrieve it.
More…
Inside the "Doomsday" Seed Vault
National Geographic have published photos of the vault that has been built at the island of Spitsbergen, Norway. Pics of the nearest town are included as well.
Light Source Glows For 12 Years
Litroenergy is a new type of material that will emit light for a half-life of 12 years without needing electricity or sun exposure. The self-luminous micro-particles are called Litrospheres and are said to be non-toxic and inexpensive (although one would assume they are radioactive…). The light is said to be equivalent to a 20 watt incandescent bulb, and would cost a mere 35 cents. Perfect for any bunker!
