These are some of the most spectacular examples of abandoned engineering the world has ever known. The series explores how and why they were built, consider the financial and social costs of their failure and examine the environmental and ecological impacts. The series also explores how experts came up with plans to make something beautiful or useful from the ruins.
Table of Contents
#1 – Tunnel To The Underworld
Season 4 – Episode 5
A town in West Virginia that fell victim to the pace of change when steam trains became obsolete and an underground complex in Italy that had been abandoned for nearly 2,000 years.
The episode was rated from 9 votes.
#2 – The Underwater Prison
Season 3 – Episode 2
An abandoned prison beneath the water, a tunnel in the heart of a mountain, concrete towers hidden in the woods and a rusting coastal relic.
The episode was rated from 13 votes.
#3 – The World’s Strangest Ghost Town
Season 4 – Episode 1
A settlement in Argentina destroyed by floods, a town in the US that has been erased, and a Soviet dream-town that turned into a nuclear nightmare.
The episode was rated from 8 votes.
#4 – Guernsey Nazi Towers
Season 4 – Episode 3
A little-known dark past explains the vast monolithic structures that dominate the small British island of Guernsey.
The episode was rated from 7 votes.
#5 – A Nation Torn Apart
Season 5 – Episode 5
Including an exploration of a marooned iron-clad structure in Portland, off the coast of England, that hides a dramatic story of war and resilience; Pratt Cotton Gin Mill, a vast facility in the heart of America’s deep south that helped tear apart a nation; and a Mediterranean island fortress at Spinalonga, Greece, that became the scene of a dark conspiracy.
The episode was rated from 3 votes.
#6 – Ghosts of the Swamp
Season 5 – Episode 6
Including an exploration of forgotten relics from the defence of America’s homeland, at Fort Jackson, USA, concealed by the banks of the Mississippi River; a concrete behemoth at Lorient Sub Base, on the coast of France, that proved invulnerable to enemy bombardment; and a ghostly ruin at Gwrych that is now home to a haunting presence.
The episode was rated from 6 votes.
#7 – Disaster On The 38th Parallel
Season 6 – Episode 8
The mysterious Cachtice Castle home to Elizabeth Bathory, said to have killed over 600 girls and a mysterious structure on the 38th parallel.
The episode was rated from 2 votes.
#8 – The Human Zoo
Season 6 – Episode 10
An impressive compound commandeered and repurposed by a brutal regime and an eerie complex off the coast of Ireland that became the biggest of its kind.
The episode was rated from 1 votes.
#9 – Hollywood Heroes
Season 7 – Episode 1
Legendary film sets with surprising pasts and real locations that inspired Hollywood. Within these decaying structures are the echoes of history.
The episode was rated from 2 votes.
#10 – Episode 2
Season 7 – Episode 2
In North Wales a secret facility which once manufactured mustard gas and enriched uranium lies in ruins. In Malta is a luxurious quarantine facility, that hides a dark secret.
The episode was rated from 1 votes.