Man Discovered A Tunnel In His House Leading To An Ancient Underground City

By | September 8, 2015

In 1963, while a man in the Nevşehir Province of Turkey was renovating his home, he noticed a mysterious room behind it that led him to some more cave-like rooms in a web of elaborate tunnel systems.

Take a look.

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Sunny Skyz

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photo: thingshappendownhere │ via Sometimes Interesting

What he just stumbled on was the ancient underground city of Derinkuyu, a part of the Cappadocia region in central Anatolia in Turkey.

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Here's the map of the ancient Derinkuyu Underground City.

derinkuyu map

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Cappadocia, Turkey

Cappadocia Turkey

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Derinkuyu was one of the several underground cities carved from the rock in Cappadocia Turkey thousands of years ago.

underground city at Derinkuyu 5

photo: thingshappendownhere │ via Sometimes Interesting

With eight floors reaching depths of 280 feet and an estimated 18 subterranean levels, Derinkuyu is believed to be the deepest underground city.

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The city's elaborately intricate subterranean network include secret entrances, ventilation shafts, wells, and connecting passageways.

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The underground tunnel system most likely served as a giant bunker to protect its inhabitants from war and or natural disaster.

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The wells in the underground city were not connected to the surface to prevent poisoning from crafty land dwellers.

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photo: thingshappendownhere │ via Sometimes Interesting

The cave-like rooms served various purposes and were used as shops, sleeping rooms, communal rooms, arsenals, livestock, escape routes, and even tombs.

derinkuyu - underground city 2

photo: thingshappendownhere │ via Sometimes Interesting

It really was a living, self-sufficient striving community since Derinkuyu also had a church and a school.

derinkuyu - underground city 3

photo: thingshappendownhere │ via Sometimes Interesting

The city's tunnels has hundreds of caves, making it large enough to shelter tens of thousands of people.

derinkuyu underground city 001

photo: thingshappendownhere │ via Sometimes Interesting

Many theories surround the discovery of ancient Derinkuyu, all speculating which ancient race built it. One theory is that the Hittites of Cappadocia carved out the rooms from the rock some time between the 15th century and 12th century BCE.

derinkuyu underground city 002

photo: thingshappendownhere │ via Sometimes Interesting

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photo: thingshappendownhere │ via Sometimes Interesting

Another theory suggests that the Phrygians first built those tunnels between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. This theory was reinforced by archaeologists who consider Phrygian architects to be among the finest of the Iron Age known to have built complex construction projects. Plus the fact that they inhabited the region for a long time, the Phrygians often get the credits as the ones who created the Derinkuyu underground city.

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photo: thingshappendownhere │ via Sometimes Interesting

underground city at Derinkuyu 3

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Since the city was carved from naturally-formed rock, traditional archeological dating methods would fail to accurately discern the origins of Derinkuyu.

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photo: thingshappendownhere │ via Sometimes Interesting