While digging in their garden with plans to lay a new patio, a gardener unearthed what appeared to be a wartime bomb shelter. The discovery—a shallow trench revealing a curved wall made of brick and concrete—was shared on Reddit with the post titled “Am I digging up a bomb shelter?” The homeowner, living in a 1930s semi-detached house in Liverpool, was eager to learn more about the structure and how it might affect their garden plans.
The video immediately intrigued the online community, prompting a wave of speculation. Several users shared similar experiences with mysterious brick and concrete remnants found in their own gardens, some recalling childhood memories of Anderson shelters—traditional steel and concrete air-raid shelters commonly built during World War II.
However, many commenters expressed doubt that the find was actually a bomb shelter. They noted that authentic Anderson shelters typically featured corrugated steel and were rarely constructed with curved brick walls. Instead, the curved brickwork seemed inconsistent with quick, functional wartime construction. One comment explained that while some Anderson shelters had brick elements depending on soil conditions, most were assembled with corrugated metal walls and buried for protection.
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The original poster expressed a mix of disappointment and curiosity, wondering if the structure might simply be a “half-wall” or foundation instead of a secret underground den. Community members suggested practical explanations like an old shed base, a concrete pad, or a garden retaining wall that previous owners had covered up.
One particularly detailed analysis stood out, pointing out that the style of the bricks used—British Standard metric bricks with three holes—only began production from the 1960s onward, making a wartime origin less likely. This propelled the consensus that the mysterious garden feature is probably an old garden structure rather than a bomb shelter.
Despite initial excitement, the gardener is now rethinking their discovery and planning to proceed with their patio, appreciating the insights shared by helpful online neighbors and the unexpected history hidden beneath their backyard.