Digging Through Time: Unearthing the Fascinating History of Boreholes
It’s not as ‘boring’ as you think!
If you are a civil engineer, construction manager, or landscape surveyor, you have probably come across the term ‘borehole’ in your education or career. You are familiar with its purpose and what information it can provide. What you may not be aware of is its history; where it originated, and how it was initially used. We often forget that modern construction practices almost always had an ancient origin.
The history of borehole technology is a long and complex one, with many significant gaps. The earliest examples of boreholes, dating back to around 2,500 BC, have been discovered in ancient Egypt. Despite initial skepticism that the ancient Egyptians possessed the technology to create such boreholes, research has revealed that they used tools with copper “drill bits” to core out the holes. To cut through hard materials such as granite, they used water and abrasive materials like sand and may have even known about certain chemical reactions to help the process along. Pretty impressive discovery!
Evidence surrounding the use of boreholes for mining, salt wells, and more can be traced back to China’s Han Dynasty. By the end of the Han Dynasty, rudimentary tools for percussion drilling had been developed, with iron drill bits connected to bamboo and slammed repeatedly into the borehole to make it deeper. It has been speculated that percussive drilling was derived from the pounding of rice into rice flour. While this method was slow and laborious, it was capable of drilling holes as deep as 140m.
(from Zhong & Huang)
Over the next couple thousand years, these tools became more refined, with the addition of extra tools such as those for repairing cave-ins or retrieving fallen tools. Boreholes were also lined with hollowed-out logs at the entrance, adding to their stability. China remained at the forefront of borehole technology for many centuries, with significant advancements continuing to be made.
Around 1050 AD, the Chinese began using a stripped bamboo “cable” that allowed them to create much deeper holes. However, as these machines were still powered by humans and animals, there was only so much weight they could lift. Despite this limitation, the stripped bamboo “cable” made it possible to reach depths of 300m to 400m, which was the average depth by the 1700s.
While the technology behind borehole drilling has come a long way since those early days, the advancements made by the Chinese during the Han Dynasty laid the groundwork for what was to come in the later centuries.
During the 19th century’s industrial revolution, significant advancements were made in drilling technology, bringing about unprecedented efficiency. While the rest of the world struggled to catch up, renowned inventor Leonardo Da Vinci had already designed a drilling rig in the late 1400s. Still, significant developments in drilling technology were still a long way off. It wasn’t until 1835, when a well in Shanghai hit a depth of 1km, that the world saw significant progress. This feat was accomplished after more than a decade of intense effort, making it seem as if no one would be able to get close for a long time.
The 1800s brought about a series of advancements in drilling technology, greatly increasing efficiency. One of the most significant breakthroughs during this time was the introduction of percussive drilling which meant that with the use of engines, heavier weights could be utilized, allowing for faster work than any human could achieve. In Europe, the first recorded use of a borehole was in 1684 in England, where a well was drilled to a depth of 120 feet (37 meters) to obtain water for a brewery.
As time progressed, the trend towards faster and more efficient drilling continued into the 1900s. At the start of the century, it would take around 2 years to drill a 600m hole, but by 1950, that time was cut down to just 9 months. By 1975, drilling had become even more efficient, taking less than 2 weeks to drill the same distance. Going from two years to 9 months was a major leap. By the mid-20th century, borehole drilling had become a standard technique for obtaining geological and hydrological information, as well as for exploring minerals and oil.
Today, drilling technology has reached unprecedented heights, with modern rigs capable of reaching depths of several kilometers in just a matter of weeks. Boreholes at great depths are used for a wide range of purposes, including groundwater monitoring, geothermal energy extraction, soil and rock sampling, and geotechnical investigations. Borehole technology continues to advance, with new drilling techniques and equipment making it possible to drill deeper, faster, and more accurately than ever before.
Fast forward to today where we have built an entire industry around drilling boreholes and gathering information about the conditions below the earth's surface. One lingering issue that is yet to be fully innovated is digitizing this geologic information in a way that is readily accessible to engineers and design professionals. This information is essential for engineers to design safe and effective foundations for buildings, bridges, roads, and other infrastructure projects. The data collected in boreholes is also used to measure groundwater levels, which can affect the stability of a foundation, aid in design optimization, minimize costs, and ensure safety for any project.
The digitization of borehole data is becoming increasingly important for the future of design and construction projects. With the rise of computer-aided design (CAD) and building information modeling (BIM), having accurate and detailed information about the geology and subsurface conditions of a site can significantly enhance the efficiency and safety of construction projects. Digitizing borehole data allows for easy access, sharing, and analysis of geological data, which can inform decisions about the design and construction of structures, foundations, and underground facilities. This data can also help identify potential risks and challenges during construction, reducing the likelihood of costly delays or accidents.
Civils.ai is dedicated to harnessing the potential of data in construction projects, with a special emphasis on geological information. We have cutting-edge tools that can effortlessly convert PDF site investigation reports into digital format and present them in 3D alongside open data and other relevant digital files such as AGS data. With our technology, we hope to create a Google Maps-like platform for underground data. This will help engineers access crucial information before starting a project without the additional cost of subcontracting site investigators. Concept design time could be cut in half!
Overall, the digitization of borehole data is a valuable tool for engineers, architects, and construction professionals, enabling them to make more informed decisions and ultimately improving the quality and safety of construction projects. It is crazy to think that the first boreholes originated in 2500 BC and now we can have three-dimensional models of the underground right at our fingertips.
