How did black powder contribute to the construction of the Canal du Midi's Malpas Tunnel?

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coal miner loading a drill hole with an explosive — explosive A coal miner loading a drill hole with a water gel explosive called Tovex.

The construction of the Malpas Tunnel, a key feature of the Canal du Midi in France, marked a historic milestone as the first major application of explosives in public-works tunneling.12

In 1679, the engineer Pierre-Paul, Baron Riquet de Bonrepos utilized black powder to blast through rock on the section of the canal near Capestang. To execute this, workers placed gunpowder into holes that had been manually created using handheld iron drills. This innovative use of explosives significantly advanced civil engineering, providing a more efficient method for excavating through solid rock than traditional manual labor alone.132