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RECONSTRUCTIONS MOTHERGATE ALBUM AUDIO ARCHIVE

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Undercutter
 
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Woodhorn Colliery: Undercutter

The job of the undercutter, or hewer, was to dig coal from the bottom of the seam to make a gap between it and the rock below. This gap was filled with coal brought down by explosives.

The hewers were paid so much for every ton of coal they extracted. The more difficult the coal was to mine, the more they got paid. This system was called cavilling.

From here you can:
 
PREHISTORIC BURIALROMAN PERIOD FARMANGLO-SAXON ROYAL PALACEMEDIEVAL VILLAGEMEDIEVAL CASTLEPOST-MEDIEVAL LEAD WORKINGTWENTIETH CENTURY COAL MINE