Long ago, when castles, mansions, alcazars, fortresses and palaces existed, then within these also existed secret passages. These secret passages were hidden routes somewhere inside the building. Only a few trusted people knew about these tunnels. These concealed tunnels led to private rooms or to an exit far away from the building. Anybody crawling through them could enter or exit buildings without being seen.

Obviously then the question is why were they constructed at all? After all, we don’t have hidden routes in our homes these days.

In the olden times, there was always a looming threat of enemy attack. Hidden routes inside palaces provided the king and the royal family one of the ways to hide or avoid the danger.

But that is not the only reason, there is more to it.

Ancient Egyptians built rooms hidden deep beneath the main passages inside the pyramids. These were decoy rooms with few valuable items to trap the tomb raiders. This way raiders could be caught before they reached actual burial chamber. Smart, huh!

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, priests practicing Catholic traditions were punished. Many English homes had small, cleverly hidden spaces constructed to hide a Catholic priest during sudden raids by the queen’s men. These hidden chambers were called priest holes. Today, you can still find priest holes in many of England’s historic homes.

In 2006, a tunnel was discovered running from Tijuana, Mexico to Otay Mesa, California. The tunnel was used to smuggle goods and carry out illegal activities. Taking a cue from olden times, a modern day tunnel gets built but only to used for evil activities… That’s sad.