EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

Mysterious flooding leads to the discovery of 5,000-year-old underground city in Turkey’s Cappadocia

Mysterious flooding leads to the discovery of 5,000-year-old underground city in Turkey’s Cappadocia

One of the most spectacular sights in the world is in Central Turkey – dark valleys and rock formations with homes, chapels, churches, mosques and entire underground towns, harmoniously cut into the natural landscape.

These unique underground havens have risen and fallen around cities, empires, and religions, and yet it seems they still hold a few more secrets.

Another massive underground city in Cappadocia has been uncovered by archeologists in Turkey, consisting of at least 7 km of caves, hidden churches and escape galleries, dating back some five thousand years.

Calling it the “biggest archeological finding of 2014”, Hurriyet Daily News announced that the ancient city was found beneath Nevşehir fortress and the surrounding area, during an urban transformation project carried out by Turkey’s Housing Development Administration (TOKİ). 

“Some 1,500 buildings were destructed located in and around the Nevşehir fortress, and the underground city was discovered when the earthmoving to construct new buildings had started,” writes Hurriyet Daily News.

Nevşehir province in Cappadocia, Turkey

Nevşehir province is already famous for its incredible subterranean city at Derinkuyu (pictured in featured image), which was once home to as many as 20,000 residents living together underground.

It is eleven levels deep and has 600 entrances and many miles of tunnels connecting it to other underground cities.  It incorporates areas for sleeping, stables for livestock, wells, water tanks, pits for cooking, ventilation shafts, communal rooms, bathrooms, and tombs.

A reconstruction of what the Derinkuyu underground city is believed to have looked like

It is hard to imagine anything surpassing the Derinkuyu underground city in both size and scope, but archaeologists are saying they have reason to believe the newly discovered subterranean city will be the largest out of all the other underground cities in Nevşehir and may even be the largest underground city in the world.

Details regarding the dating of the site and how this was carried out, have not yet been released by those involved.

However, researchers have reported retrieving more than forty artifacts from the tunnels so far, so archaeologists may have reached the estimated date of 5,000 years based on those.

Numerous other known underground sites in Cappadocia have also been dated to this era.

Despite pouring 90 million Turkish Liras into the urban transformation project so far, the TOKİ has said it will move now their project to the outskirts of the city so that the newly found city, which is now officially registered with the Cultural and National Heritage Preservation Board, can be investigated and preserved.

TOKİ Head Mehmet Ergün Turan told Hurriyet Daily News that they do not view this as a loss considering the importance of the discovery.

“Hasan Ünver, mayor of Nevşehir, said other underground cities in Nevşehir’s various districts do not even amount to the “kitchen” of this new underground city,” reports Hurriyet Daily News.

Through the ages, the Hittites, Persians, Alexander the Great, Rome, The Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire, and Turkey have all governed the spectacular region of Cappadocia in Central Anatolia.

One hundred square miles with more than 200 underground villages and tunnel towns complete with hidden passages, secret rooms, and ancient temples and remarkably storied history of each new civilization building on the work of the last, make Cappadocia one of the world’s most striking and largest cave-dwelling regions of the world.

Now a discovery has been made that may overshadow them all.

The incredible cave houses of Cappadocia, Turkey.
WORLD

Was There a Civilization On Earth Before Humans?

Was There a Civilization On Earth Before Humans?

There are tens of billion potentially habitable planets in our Milky Way Galaxy. But we don’t know whether we are alone For now, the Planet is the only world known for its existence, so we believe that Homo sapiens is the only species to have developed advanced technology among all the living things on our earth.

But maybe that’s assuming too much.

With an insightful new paper called “The Silurian Hypothesis,” the scientists of NASA’s Goddard Research Institute and of the University of Rochester take a critical look at the scientific evidence that our civilization is the only advanced one ever on earth. In a report on the ancient brain reptiles featured in the British Science Fiction Show, “Doctor Who”

“Are we really aware that we were Earth’s first technology species?” Asks Adam Frank, a physics and astronomy professor and co-author of the article at Rochester. “Only for 300 years have we had an industrial society, but for nearly 400 million years there has been dynamic life on the ground.”

If humans went extinct today, Frank says, any future civilization that might arise on Earth millions of years hence might find it hard to recognize traces of human civilization. By the same token, if some earlier civilization existed on Earth millions of years ago, we might have trouble finding evidence of it.

In search of lizard people

The discovery of physical artifacts would certainly be the most dramatic evidence of a Silurian-style civilization on Earth, but Frank doubts we’ll ever find anything of the sort.

“Our cities cover less than one percent of the surface,” he says. Any comparable cities from an earlier civilization would be easy for modern-day paleontologists to miss. And no one should count on finding a Jurassic iPhone; it wouldn’t last millions of years, Gorilla Glass or no.

Sleestaks

Finding fossilized bones is a slightly better bet, but if another advanced species walked the Earth millions of years ago — if they walked — it would be easy to overlook their fossilized skeletons — if they had skeletons. Modern humans have been around for just 100,000 years, a thin sliver of time within the vast and spotty fossil record.

For these reasons, Frank and Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist at Goddard and the paper’s co-author, focus on the possibility of finding chemical relics of an ancient terrestrial civilization.

Using human technology as their guide, Schmidt and Frank suggest zeroing in on plastics and other long-lived synthetic molecules as well as radioactive fallout (in case factions of ancient lizard people waged atomic warfare). In our case, technological development has been accompanied by widespread extinctions and rapid environmental changes, so those are red flags as well.

After reviewing several suspiciously abrupt geologic events of the past 380 million years, the researchers conclude that none of them clearly fit a technological profile. Frank calls for more research, such as studying how modern industrial chemicals persist in ocean sediments and then seeing if we can find traces of similar chemicals in the geologic record.

He argues that a deeper understanding of the human environmental footprint will also have practical consequences, helping us recognize better ways to achieve a long-term balance with the planet so we don’t end up as tomorrow’s forgotten species.

Then again, he’s also a curious guy who’s interested in exploring more far-out ideas for finding Silurian-style signatures: “You could try looking on the moon,” he says.

Lunar archaeology

The moon is a favored target of Penn State University astronomer Jason Wright, one of a handful of other researchers now applying serious scientific thinking to the possibility of pre-human technological civilizations.

“Habitable planets like Earth are pretty good at destroying unmaintained things on their surfaces,” Wright says. So he’s been looking at the exotic possibility that such a civilization might have been a spacefaring one. If so, artifacts of their technology, or technosignatures, might be found elsewhere in the solar system.

Wright suggests looking for such artifacts not just on the lunar surface, but also on asteroids or buried on Mars — places where such objects could theoretically survive for hundreds of millions or even billions of years.

SpaceX’s recent launch of a Tesla Roadster into space offers an insight into how such a search might go. Several astronomers pointed their telescopes at the car and showed that, even if you had no idea what you were looking at, you’d still quickly pick it out as one weird-looking asteroid.

Finding technosignatures in space is an extreme long shot, but Wright argues that the effort is worthwhile. “There are lots of other reasons to find peculiar structures on Mars and the moon, and to look for weird asteroids,” he says. Such studies might reveal new details about the history and evolution of the solar system, for instance, or about resources that might be useful to future spacefarers.

AFRICA, EGYPT, WORLD

From representation to reality: ancient Egyptian wax head cones from Amarna

Archaeologists have finally found ancient Egyptian wax head cones

Many men with cone-shaped headgear were depicted in ancient Egyptian paintings but no actual representations are identified for a long time. Now, an international team of archaeologists reports the discovery of the first actual head cones at the city of Amarna.

Pharaoh Akhenaten rendered Amarna and it was only 15 years occupied (1347 – 1332 BC). But despite this brief existence, the city contains thousands of graves, including those of many non-elites.

The Amarna Project archeologists collaborate with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities to investigate them, shedding light on the ordinary people of ancient Egypt.

Their discovery in 2010 was unexpected: a grave with a head cone. Another was found in 2015. This finally confirmed the objects actually existed, which some researchers had been skeptical of.

Wherever the reasons are unknown, these cones are included in the burials, the Amarna cones have provided the first opportunity to investigate an important ancient Egyptian tradition that, until now, we weren’t even sure existed.

Ancient Egyptian art frequently depicted people wearing a cone-shaped headgear. For around 1,500 years (c. 1549-30 BC), paintings and carvings showed individuals wearing cones on their heads at banquets, at worship, and in the afterlife.

Despite this abundance of visual evidence, however, archaeologists had never found an actual head cone. This lack of material evidence even prompted some researchers to suggest that the cones never existed and that they were instead purely symbolic, like the halos given to religious figures in Christian art.

A selection of depictions of head cones in Ancient Egyptian art from Amarna

Now, an international team of archaeologists publishing in the latest issue of Antiquity, report the discovery of two head cones from cemeteries at the ancient Egyptian city of Amarna, confirming for the first time the physical existence of this unusual headwear.

The head cones were discovered in the cemeteries at the city of Amarna (called Akhetaten by the ancient Egyptians). This city was built by the pharaoh Akhenaten as a home for the cult of the sun god Aten, whose exclusive worship Akhenaten promoted instead of traditional Egyptian polytheism.

The city was abandoned around a decade after the pharaoh’s death, meaning the settlement was occupied for only 15 years, from 1347 to 1332 BC. Despite this short occupation, the city is extensive, spanning several square kilometers and featuring thousands of graves.

A reconstruction of a burial at the southern Amarna cemetery

The ruins of a pharaoh’s abandoned city attracted ancient looters, who ravaged all four cemeteries at the site. This left archaeologists with the difficult task of piecing together the disturbed burials.

Archaeologists from the Amarna Project, working with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, have been exploring this wealth of evidence since 2005. These excavations are helping to fill in gaps in knowledge created by the rapid excavations during the early days of Egyptology. The work is especially important for helping us to understand the lives of ordinary Egyptians, beyond the ruling elite.

Amongst these individuals were two people buried with head cones. One was a female, aged 20-29 years old at death, whilst the other was a 15-20-year-old of indeterminate sex.

Individual 150 in situ with a head cone

Archaeologists have long discussed the significance of head cones. Before this new discovery, some scholars argued that the cones did not exist as real objects but rather were symbols used in artistic representations. Others, however, suggested that they did exist but were made of materials that did not survive in the archaeological record. One popular hypothesis was that they were an unguent – pieces of fat or wax perfumed, perhaps with myrrh.

As the cone melted, the scent was released, with some ancient Egyptian literature suggesting that this process would purify the wearer.

The Amarna head cones were discovered in fragments, but archaeologists have been able to reconstruct their overall shape. Specialists were also able to use portable equipment to carry out several kinds of non-destructive spectroscopy on the cones.

This analysis reveals the cones were hollow and made of wax, most likely beeswax. However, contrary to expectations, there is little evidence they contained unguent.

Why the cones were included in these two burials is difficult to know. They may have been thought to purify the wearer, enhancing their spiritual powers to allow them to engage with the rituals and deities encountered in the afterlife. Another possibility is that they were connected with ideas of fertility and resurrection. Whatever their purpose and significance, the Amarna cones provide the first opportunity to investigate an important ancient Egyptian tradition that, until now, we weren’t even sure existed.

A reconstruction of the two cones, revealing they are hollow
EUROPE, WORLD

Possible Viking-Era Grave Discovered in Estonia

Possible Viking-era Grave Discovered in Estonia

Estonia’s biggest find of Viking sword fragments was found on the northern coast of the country last year. Burial artifacts found in the same area this year suggest that the swords were used by local warriors from the ancient county of Rävala.

Mauri Kiudsoo, an archaeologist and curator of the Tallinn Collection of Archeological Research University, said to BSN that, this year’s burial site discovered lied just a few dozen meters from last year’s find and that both the grave and the sword find date back to the 10th century.

Kiudsoo said, “These findings are related.” “A brooch we find suggests that local soldiers of the ancient county of Rävala used the weapons.” Archeologists discovered an in-ground burial site on the north Estonian coast, once the territory of the ancient county of Rävala, earlier this year.

During the plowing of the tomb, archaeologists came across fragments of spearheads, bridles, scythes and single-edged combat knives. 

The site also revealed a crossbow-shaped brooch with heads modeled after a poppy capsule that had been disfigured in a fire and a pair of spring scissors.

Type H sword pommel found in a cenotaph in northern Estonia before cleaning. Source: Mauri Kiudsoo

The same burial site revealed two collections of about one hundred fragments of Viking swords in all last year. It was the single largest find of Viking sword fragments in Estonia. The two collections discovered last year were just 80 meters apart and are very likely cenotaphs – tombs in honor of people whose remains are buried elsewhere.

The news of a discovery of roughly one hundred Viking sword fragments was picked up by many archeological and historical publications all over the world, with most of them associating the find with warriors from Scandinavia.

“This is probably not the case,” Kiudsoo said. “The site discovered this year gives us good reason to believe that the nearby cenotaphs constitute symbolic burials for warriors from Rävala, not Swedish or Danish Vikings who perished on the Eastern Route.”

Type H sword pommel found in a cenotaph in northern Estonia before cleaning. Source: Mauri Kiudsoo

“It cannot be claimed absolutely, but it is likely the two cenotaphs are dedicated to Rävala warriors who perished in one or two battles or campaigns far from home,” Kiudsoo said.

The archeologist explained that weapons used in the Baltic Sea region were quite similar during the Viking Age. “That is why it is impossible to draw conclusions based on swords and spearheads alone regarding the origin of the people who wielded them. The same types of swords were used by Scandinavians, Estonians’ ancestors, but also Livonians, Curonians or any other peoples who inhabited the region during the Viking Era.”

However, it is possible to draw conclusions of the origin of the warriors using jewelry. Kiudsoo said that types of jewelry are often local as jewelry that was widespread in Gotland was usually worn by people from Gotland and types common in Estonia by people from that region.

“Crossbow-shaped brooches were usually worn by warriors from southwestern Finland and northwestern Estonia on the passage that intersects with the main thoroughfare of the Eastern Route,” Kiudsoo said. The burial site unearthed this year revealed purposefully broken and burnt pieces of a crossbow-shaped brooch with heads modeled after poppy capsules.

Kiudsoo said that flat crossbow-shaped brooches with poppy capsule heads are characteristic of northwestern Estonia. “This type of brooch did not take root in Scandinavia, with only a few found in isolation in Väntholmen in Sweden and the Eketorp fort in Oland,” he added.

Fragment of a crossbow-shaped brooch with poppy capsule heads (the poppy-shaped head)

Crossbow-shaped brooches with poppy capsule heads resemble crossbow brooches but have different construction and are much larger. It is the largest type of brooch worn in Estonia.

The construction of the burial site discovered this year also points to local origin. Kiudsoo said it was an in-ground cremation burial where the deceased’s burned remains were placed in a hole or a hollow in the ground and covered with earth and rocks. This type of burial was much more widely used in northern Estonia during the Viking Era than previously believed and was also used in western Estonia.

Kiudsoo added that the spring scissors make for one of the more interesting finds from the cremation burial. Such scissors were used both for sheep shearing and cutting cloth at the time.

Spring scissors found at the cenotaph. 

Only two Estonian burial sites have yielded similar scissors in the past: the Kurna site in Harju County and the Keskvere barrow in Lääne County. Spring scissors have also been found from the Peedu fort, the Rõuge fortified settlement, and the Tartu settlement layer, with the latter dating from 1030-61. It is often difficult to date scissors without context due to the tools lacking distinguishing marks.

Last year’s Rävala finds constitute the largest single collection of Viking Era weapon fragments in Estonia. The find included fragments of sword types deemed rare for the region. The Rävala find yielded dozens of type H hilt swords, also individual type E and V fragments, with the latter two considered rarer.

The reason why the sets did not produce intact swords has to do with ancient burial traditions. Finds from the region and the period typically see weapons accompanying buried warriors “killed”, meaning they have been destroyed or rendered unusable.

ENGLAND, EUROPE, WORLD

Scans Reveal Archangel Michael Tattoo on Mummy’s Thigh

Scans Reveal Archangel Michael Tattoo on Mummy’s Thigh

High-tech testing on eight Egyptian mummies from the British Museum by a team of scientists from London uncovered fascinating information, including discoveries that one of the mummies has a tattoo symbolizing the Archangel Michael on her inner thigh.

Scanning an Egyptian mummy.

The 8 mummies were from different eras, from kings to people who passed through the Nile. They came from different walks of life.

One of the mummies was only around two years of age when he died, while others lived to see their 50th birthday.

The oldest mummy tested is more than 5,500 years old, while the most recent lived around 1,300 years ago.

The mummies underwent computerized tomography scans (CAT scans) and infra-red reflectography at London hospital, which revealed what lay underneath their wrappings for the first time.

A photograph left, and infra-red reflectography of the tattoo found on the mummified remains of a Sudanese woman.

The scans enabled the scientists to build up a 3D image of the ancient remains, revealing bones, tissue, and vital organs.

The results revealed that the Egyptians suffered from some of the same health issues that plague us today, including high cholesterol, fatty diets, heart problems, and dental issues.

But most fascinating of all was the discovery of a tattoo on a female mummy, aged between 20 and 35, which Dr. David Antoine, curator of physical anthropology at the British Museum, described as “truly a unique and remarkable find”.

The 1,300-year-old female mummy was different from the others in that her remains were found in Sudan and she had been naturally-preserved by the hot and arid environment.

Her tattoo represents the symbol of the Archangel Michael, who features in both the Old and New Testaments, and who was the Patron Saint of Medieval Sudan.

“The tattoo on her right inner thigh represents a monogram that spells Michael in ancient Greek,” said Dr. Antoine. “We have found other examples of the monogram, but never in the form of a tattoo.

Michael is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. In the New Testament Michael leads God’s armies against Satan’s forces in the Book of Revelation, where during the war in heaven he defeats Satan.

Christian sanctuaries to Michael appeared in the 4th century, when he was first seen as a healing angel, and then over time as a protector and the leader of the army of God against the forces of evil.

By the 6th century, devotions to Archangel Michael were widespread both in the Eastern and Western Churches.

The mummies and the detailed results of the scans will be available for the first time in a new exhibition opening on at the British Museum titled “Ancient Lives: New Discoveries”.

EUROPE, POLAND, WORLD

Archaeologists dig up a Celtic iron mill predating Jesus Christ

Archaeologists dig up a Celtic iron mill predating Jesus Christ

The Celtic iron smelling furnace which predates Jesus, which confirmed further how much the Celts have had an influence on continental Europe and their power in the region, was excavated by the archaeologists of Poland, a pleasant and exciting finding in Warkocz near the city.

Although we find the Celts to be rooted in the history of Scottish, Irish, British and Welsh, they actually originated from central Eastern Europe, where Poland is located today..

The Hallstatt culture of Iron Age arose and soon helped them spread their metallurgy across Europe and to the British Isles, where their languages, including Gaelic, Welsh, and Irland, are still relevant today.

Celtic shield found in London in the 1800s.

These metallurgy skills would not have been possible without iron smelting furnaces, which were dug into the Earth and lined with clay.

These facilities gave the Celts a superior ability to produce the armor, helmets, and weaponry that would make them a dominant force throughout the land until the Romans defeated them and integrated them into their own society when Julius Caesar conquered Celtic Gaul in campaigns from 58 BC to 51 BC.

An intricately crafted ceremonial Celtic helmet

But for centuries prior to that, the Celts were a powerful culture, in no small part thanks to their smelting skills.

Celtic bronze mirror.

And now, archaeologists led by Dr. Przemysław Dulęba from the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Wrocław have uncovered one of their furnaces, complete with remnants of iron and slag inside along with other artifacts such as ceramic pieces, garment clasps, and clothing items, as well as metal ornaments that all made it clear the furnace belonged to the Celts as far back as the 3rd century BC.

The remains of a Celtic smelting furnace found in Poland.

“The iron smelting furnaces that we discovered in Warkocz most probably come from this earliest phase of their stay in the lands of modern-day Poland,” Dulęba said in a statement. “The time of their arrival is a still poorly researched and mysterious period in the prehistory of southern and central Poland.”

Celtic smelting furnace demonstration

Indeed, southern Poland is on the outer edge of the where the Hallstatt culture originated. But it should not have taken the Celts long to arrive there as it would have been a short journey north by horse. And the Celts were expert horsemen, even going on to serve as elite cavalry in the Roman military. The Romans would also go on to adopt the Celtic sword.

Celtic cavalry warrior as depicted on a Bronze plaque made around 400 BC.

While Celtic furnaces were more multi-purpose installations that served a wide variety of societal needs, later Roman furnaces were not.

”Interestingly, bloomeries (metallurgical furnaces) from the Roman period, i.e. a few hundred years later, were single-use installations,” Dulęba said. These smelting furnaces were made to last, and the reason why this one was even found is that the team of archaeologists used a piece of special modern technology that can detect sites that were once exposed to high heat, which is necessary for metallurgy.

The furnaces were dug deep into the ground, and their interior lined with pugging (an insulating layer containing clay). Only a very small part protruded from the surface of the earth.

For now, researchers have opened only one small archaeological excavation but Dr. Dulęba says he believes there could be more furnaces in the area. The archaeologists chose the excavation site after using a magnetic method that registers traces of old buildings and structures that were once strongly exposed to high temperatures.

One of several Celtic swords that have been found, demonstrating the artistry of their metallurgy skills.
A Roman spatha influenced by Celtic design.

The Celtic culture flourished for years and their smelting skills crafted many works that are currently on display today in museums around the world. By the time Jesus was born in Bethlehem around 4 BC, the Celts had already been largely conquered by the Romans, but their culture had existed for centuries and continues to persist today in small pockets where they once lived.

Stained glass depicting Jesus.

But the analysis and dating of the site are only just beginning as scientists prepare to employ radiocarbon dating to establish a more exact age.

”If expert research in the form of analyses and radiocarbon dating of burnt wood residues from furnaces confirms our assumption, we will be able to state with certainty that this is the first well documented Celt metallurgical workshop in modern-day Poland,” Dulęba said.

And that would truly be something to add to Polish history books, which is already influenced by the Celts, who introduced many tools and weapons to the region, forms which were still being used up to the 1800s.

The Celts introduced the knowledge of the potter’s wheel and advanced iron metallurgy, with shears, axes, cutters, files, and hammers in a similar form being used in Poland until the end of the pre-industrial era at the turn of the 19th century.

Poland should be proud of their Celtic heritage, for it shaped their nation just as much throughout history as other peoples and events. Perhaps more Celtic sites will be found near the smelting furnace and will shed more light on a culture that is still somewhat mysterious to us.

ASIA, INDIA, WORLD

The Indian River drains out for the first time revealing incredible ancient secrets

The Indian River drains out for the first time revealing incredible ancient secrets

A mix of excessive water consumption and drought has driven the Shamala River to its brink for the first time in history, in Karnataka, India.

This lead to the discovery of artifacts on the banks of the river that shocked many archeologists around the world.

In short, dry weather has led to a reduction in the level of the Shalmala River in Karnataka, India, revealing numerous carvings (known as Shiva Lingas) in the rock bed of female and male sexual symbols, as well as of Nandi, i.e., the Hindu God Shiva’s bull mount.

The place is also called “Sahasralinga.” So many people visit it to pray to Lord Shivá, and it has become a very important pilgrimage site.

Additionally, Lingam is an illustration of the Hindu god Shiva and is in Hindu temples for worship and prayer. In turn, it is also known as Shiva Lingas.

During Shivratri, many pilgrims visit this site in India and offer pujas, the best time when the water level in the river is low and almost all Lingas are visible with their bases referred to as Yonis.

Every Linga has an individual bull carved facing towards them. Nobody actually knows when and who carved these Lingas.

However, it is believed that the King of Sirsi, Sadashivaraya, might have ordered their building during his reign (1678 – 1718.)

Located in the Indian state of Karnataka, near the place called Sirsi, Sashasralinga is listed among the most incredible places that India can offer.

It is also the manifestation of divine power as well as positive energy.

The large number of Shiva Lingas discovered as a result of the draught is evidence that there are numerous places in the world that still hold secrets of our ancestors, secrets that archaeologists are bringing out to light.

We really hope they will be properly preserved and people will pay respect to their historical value and tradition.

EUROPE, TURKEY, WORLD

An ancient underground city in central Turkey has been discovered by shepherds

An ancient underground city in central Turkey has been discovered by shepherds

Researchers who have been cataloging the underground settlements in the area since 2014 have uncovered the amazing city in Turkey’s Kayseri province.

Locals in the Gesi district told them about the presence of the cave and what they discovered was pretty outstanding.

The cave, named the Belagasi Underground City, contains 52 chambers, is 80 meters in length, and authorities are now planning on opening it up for tourists to visit.

The underground city of Kaymakli, Cappodocia, Turkey.
A room in Derinkuyu, an underground city in Cappadocia, Turkey

Also on the mountainside around the city, a church and other buildings were discovered.

This gives an idea of its age, “there are many underground cities built by Christian peoples, particularly between the 6th and 11th centuries,” according to the Obruk Cave Research organization.

The area has other similar caves, but it is thought this could be the first one with more than 50 chambers.

The size of the city was probably increased in line with the growing population of the ancient settlement.

Underground settlements were often inhabited in ancient times as they offered protection from invasions and bad weather; they were not designed to be long-term abodes.

Cave cities contained drainage systems, food storage, homes, and even transport and shops. Like other underground cities in Kayseri, Belağası was built in a horizontal fashion.

That style marks them out from caves found in nearby Cappadocia, which with its fairytale landscape is one of Turkey’s top tourism destinations.

Thought to have been first carved out by the Hittites, the vast network of underground cities in Cappadocia was first mentioned by the ancient Greek historian Xenophon in the 4th century BC.

During the 6th and 7th centuries, Byzantine Christians extended the cities and used them as a means by which to escape persecution.

Four of the most interesting to visit are Kaymaklı Underground City, with a maze of tunnels and rooms carved eight levels deep into the earth 

Derinkuyu Underground City, which has large, cavernous rooms arrayed on seven levels; Gaziemir Underground City, where you can see churches, a winery with wine barrels, food depots, hamams and tandır (clay-oven) fireplaces; and Özlüce Underground City, which is less developed and less crowded.

All In One Magazine