Chennai, March 8 (BPNS)

A bunker built by the British during the World War 1 was discovered accidentally at an old building in American College, Madurai.

Principal of the College, Davamani Christober while speaking to BPNS said, “ During the WW1, British had built bunkers in any new buildings that were constructed. This bunker would also have been made during The bunker was built under the James Hall Building and the foundation stone for the James Hall building was laid on March 1, 1912, which is just before the World War 1.”

The bunker was discovered accidentally while the workers were cleaning and it has one entrance that extends underground.

“We accidentally discovered the bunker which was used as a godown for junk materials like furniture and when we cleared the nearby areas it was found that it was a huge hall and there were four exits. However the exits were buried in sand and stone in the ground and no one has noticed it earlier.”, said Christober.

He said that one of the exits that were on the ground floor of the James Hall has been cleared and kept covered.

The bunker is about 10ft high and is built with iron girders which were made in Newcastle, United Kingdom.

College authorities said that the bunker would be converted into a museum and the collection of old coins, artifacts, and manuscripts in college will be displayed in the museum.