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Water tunnels lead to 5,000-year-old underground city in Turkey

Construction work in Turkey’s central Anatolian province of Nevsehir came to a stop in 2013, when workers demolishing low-income homes surrounding Nevsehir castle uncovered the entrances to a number of rooms and tunnels. Work was halted and archaeologists and scientists were immediately called to the site.

Scientists and researchers working at the site now say this newly discovered ancient underground city could be the largest ever found in the region, even larger than the renowned city of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia, said to house up to 20,000 people in its 18-stories of living quarters, shops and escape routes.

Nevsehir is located in the Cappadocian region of Turkey.

Nevsehir is located in the Cappadocian region of Turkey.
YouTube screen grab


It is estimated that the city covers over five million square feet and goes 371 feet down into the tuff, a light, porous rock made up of volcanic ash, so prevalent in the region. This makes the city about 30 percent larger than Derinkuyu. Nevşehir’s mayor Hasan Ünver, is quite excited over the discovery, telling National Geographic: “This new discovery will be added as a new pearl, a new diamond, a new gold” to the already wondrous sites in the region.

A 300-year-old paper trail helps in the investigation
The work of searching almost 300-years worth of documents has been a collaborative effort involving a number of agencies, including Turkey’s Housing Development Administration (TOKİ), the Governor’s Office and the Culture and Tourism Ministry. “We found documents stating that there were close to 30 major water tunnels in this region,” said the mayor.

In 2014, those water tunnels led scientists to the amazing discovery of the multilevel settlement. There are living quarters, kitchens, wineries, shops, and chapels. Also found were linseed presses for making lamp oil. Other artifacts, including grindstones, ceramics and stone crosses show the vast underground city was in use from the Byzantine era through the Ottoman conquest of the region.

Modern technology helps in mapping out the underground city
Using a geo-radar machine, operated by a team of three technicians, all structures, including any gaps can be mapped out to a depth of 10 meters (32 feet). This information is then turned over to archaeologists who can continue with the excavation without damaging any structures.

Mayor Ünver told the Daily News the new underground city was extremely important to tourism in the Cappadocia region. “The existence of this underground city, which consists of 11 neighborhoods around the Nevşehir Fortress, makes us very excited. We are using the latest technology in its cleaning. When the work is done, we plan to build places like boutique hotels, art galleries, handicraft centers, walking routes, a museum and meeting rooms in the underground city,” the mayor said.

A handful of the many artifacts found in the underground city of Nevsehir.

A handful of the many artifacts found in the underground city of Nevsehir.
Ji-Elle


Turkey’s underground cities – from granaries to safe havens
The central Anatolian region of Turkey called Cappadocia has been the home of dozens of civilizations from prehistoric times to the present. The region was formed from volcanic activity millions of years ago that deposited three layers of rock across the region. First was the thick layer of volcanic ash, and above that, the dust that was to gradually compress into the stone called “tuff.” Over this layer was the lava that hardened into basalt.

Thousands and thousands of years of weathering wore away much of the basalt, leaving behind strange and eerie rock formations called “fairy chimneys.” From prehistoric times, people carved dwellings out of the formations, often several stories high and very elaborate. What is even more interesting was the natural insulation the structures provided, being cool in the hot summers and warm in winter. The underground cities began much in the same way.

It was during the second millennium BC that Hittites began to carve the oldest rooms in the underground cities, not as dwellings, but to serve as granaries. By 1100 BC, the Phrygians appeared on the scene, and for 400 years, they used the same rooms as granaries. For almost three thousand years, civilizations came, flourished and then disappeared from the Cappadocian plains, using the underground rooms to only store their grain, or occasionally, to avoid invaders.

Underground passageway in city.

Underground passageway in city.
YouTube


Christianity, persecution and invasion
During the first few hundred years after Christianity took root, as believers sought places to practice the new religion safe from the eyes of the Roman Empire, the underground storage places grew to become immense cities, deep below the Earth. They hewed out of the soft rock everything that might be needed, from bedchambers to stables, water tanks to shops. And equally important, they created churches, seminaries and baptismal fonts.

Even after persecution of Christians ended in 313 AD with the Edict of Milan, the cities were still used, this time to avoid the armies of the Byzantine Empire who marched out of Constantinople, plundering and enslaving anyone they happened to come across on their way to Persia and Africa. The cities by then had become almost complete. where whole towns disappeared before the enemy could reach them.

Nevsehir s underground city is the largest found in Turkey.

Nevsehir’s underground city is the largest found in Turkey.
YouTube


Each dwelling above ground had its own entrance to the subterranean city, or an air duct so that conversation with those underground could be accomplished. To date, over 15,000 air ducts have been discovered. It is difficult to figure out just how well the underground cities really worked, because successive waves of invaders took them over. It wasn’t until the 7th century AD, when the armies of Islam spread out of Arabia to conquer Africa and on into Asia Minor that the Byzantines finally left Cappadocia, leaving the cities deserted.

Today, 150 underground cities have been discovered, many of them yet to be excavated. The first city was opened to tourism in 1965, and since then, five cities are now open to tourists. What many people don’t realize is the importance of the history that adds so much meaning to these remarkable underground structures. It would be like walking back into another time, a time when people feared for their lives and their religious beliefs enough that to preserve them, they went underground.

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Written By

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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