It is often suggested that Marc’s inspiration for his tunnelling shield was the humble shipworm, Terredo Navalis. This tiny creature bores into ships’ timbers. Marc saw first hand the impact of Terredo Navalis up close when he worked in Chatham Dockyard.
It does its damage by using shell-like protrusions on either side of is head to dig, then excreting the excavated wood out of its body, using it to line and reinforce the tunnel as it moves along.
This became the basis of Marc’s tunnelling shield idea!
Find out more about Marc’s inspiration for the Tunnelling Shield