Men Of Steel

There are lots of fantastic little finds around the Sunderland area especially near the River Wear and if you're down near the Stadium Of Light, then you will find a little gem on the riverbank.

The Men of Steel are a series of four sculptures created by artist Graeme Hopper that commemorate the city's industrial past.

The sculptures depict eight-foot-tall steel men rolling giant lumps of coal up the riverbank. They are a striking tribute to the men of Wearside who worked in the various coal mines around the River Wear.

The sculptures were commissioned by the Regional Development Agency, One NorthEast, as part of a plan to transform the site of the former Wearmouth Colliery. The initial plan was to pay homage to the men of Wearside who used to work in the coal mines, but the sculptures have since come to represent the city's industrial heritage as a whole.

According to the nearby plaque, the seven figures are all different, illustrating individuality, but are united in a common goal, representing social struggle and the will to survive against the odds.