Moszna Mountain - 2009
For several years, explorers of the Sowie Mountains have raised an interesting question - is there an underground tunnel complex in Moszna (ger. Mulenberg) mountain? Many theories were developed, because the site has very little surface infrastructure, which caused a very low level of interest from the explorers and researchers (compared to the other complexes). Little fieldwork has been done to discover the "hypothetical" complex and nobody tried to do a broader research, that could confirm or reject the presence of unknown tunnels in the area. The Moszna area has an interested characteristic. It is situated in the center of a zone, limited by the underground complexes of Włodarz, Rzeczka, Osówka and Soboń. Basing on that fact, a theory developed, saying that all of the tunnels were supposed to connect in the Moszna area. We could also consider a possibility that the Nazis built the Moszna complex earlier than Włodarz and Rzeczka, and later on were planning to drill tunnels towards the known parts of Riese. It is one of many clues, indicating that the legendary "Centrum" ("Center") complex was located beneath the slopes of Moszna. However, up to this point there is no evidence to confirm that theory, since no entrance leading to any underground shafts or tunnels has been found. Traces left on the surface, such as the narrow-gauge railway routes, machine foundations and spoil, give us hope and let us presume, that the discovery of unknown parts of "Riese" is within reach. We have made a few field trips to the area and gathered all available information from the last several years. After analyzing the data, we have determined a spot (two collapsed tunnel entrances), that might serve as an entrance to unknown parts of "Riese". For starters, we have focused on a geophysical examination of the place, which could help us determine, whether it contains any underground installments.
The first tests, which took place in May, were done in cooperation with dr. Wiesław Nawrocki, using a GPR and various types of antennas (various range). The first profiles were taken using a 350Mhz antenna, which has an effective range of about 12-15 meters. The last two - using a 100MHz antenna, which has a range of 20-25 meters. The effectiveness of the equipment depends on geological conditions of the tested area (type of rocks, layers, etc.). All of the examined segments had a length of 20 meters. We have done a total of 6 tests (profiles), three over each supposed entrance.
The second batch of GPR tests was done in cooperation with dr. Maciej Madziarz from the Institute of Mining of Wrocław Polytechnics. His GPR was "armed" with a 200MHz antenna. We have done several 20-25 meter long profiles. Our goal, apart from finding the entrance to the tunnels, was also to determine their run, which would help us a lot during further exploring them.
The results. Despite extensive testing, the results don't give a straight answer to our question - is there an underground complex, or at least a tunnel in the area. In a few of the profiles we have found anomalies, which could mean that there is something "about" the area, if they are caused by collapsing of the tunnels. There has also been a major anomaly in one of the profiles, at about 6m, yet it was near the end of the range, so it cannot be treated as strong proof. Such ambiguous results may be caused by a lot of factors - geological conditions, major inclination of the slope and water, which can heavily distort the echograms.
Our next move will be fieldwork and exploration and is to start this fall. We hope it will allow us to reveal some of the mysteries of Moszna.
All of the tests were done free of charge and serve as a prelude to wide-scale field research in the Sowie Mountains area in cooperation with the Wrocław Poly.
