The Simplon Tunnel connects Italy with Switzerland. When it was
completed on 24 February 1905 it measured 19.803 km and was the
longest tunnel in the world. The tunnel afforded a unique view
of the deeper parts of the south-central Alps and the structure
was reappraised in light of the new theory of basement nappes.
The rocks in this collection are registered as BM1906,7(1-385)
and were purchased from Messrs Grebel, Wendler & Cie on 26
January 1906. They had been dressed at source to a standard 11
cm by 8 cm size and arrived with a typed identification list in
French and German compiled by Prof H. Schardt, the tunnel
geologist (list now stored in the Earth Science Library Special
Collection). The rocks, which can rarely be seen in situ, are
all metamorphic rocks covering the full range from slates to
gneisses. The original theory of basement nappes held through to
the early 1970's when it was refined by Milnes (1973) to give
the arrangement shown above. The collection correlates well with
this work and it is