The Moat Pit at Culross information

The Moat Pit at Culross, also called the Coal Mine in the Sea, is a site of 16th-century undersea mining in Culross, Scotland. It is the world’s first known example of undersea mining. It was built around 1590.^[1] and operated for 35 years before being overwhelmed and flooded during the Great Storm on 30 March 1625.^[2]

The pit is located at the western end of the village, sitting on the foreshore roughly 400m south of the high water mark, yet still visible at low tide. It consisted of a stone tower rising above the sea, buttressed by concentric retaining walls which contained a shaft that provided access to the principal coal seam of the area at a depth of around 40ft (12m). It was linked by one or more underground tunnels to at least one other mine entrance situated on land close to the high water mark.

The pit was a significant part of a mining complex developed by Sir George Bruce of Carnock and later his son, George Bruce II of Carnock, and grandsons, Edward Bruce 1st Earl of Kincardine and Alexander Bruce 2nd Earl of Kincardine in the period 1575–1676. The coal that was produced was a foundation for the development of local industries in salt production, metal working and glass manufacture that together was said to represent Scotland's first integrated industrial complex.

The pit was famous in the early 17th century, principally for its working under the sea, but also for its pioneering drainage system using an "Egyptian Wheel". This attracted a number of famous visitors including King James VI and I, the English poets John Taylor and Ben Jonson, Sir Robert Moray and Lord Walden.^[3]