First Known Ancient Underground City in Turkey used for Permanent Living Will Rewrite History

In December last year, an ancient subterranean city was discovered in Cappadocia, Turkey, consisting of at least 7 kilometers (3.5 miles) of tunnels, hidden churches, and escape galleries dating back around 5,000 years. Archaeologists hailed it as the “biggest archaeological finding in 2014” in Turkey. Now, following extensive excavations, the mayor in the Central Anatolian Nevşehir province has announced that it is the first known underground city in which people lived permanently.

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 a 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. Cities, empires and religions have risen and fallen around these unique underground havens, and yet it seems they still hold a few more secrets. The mayor of the region has announced that the recently discovered ancient subterranean world may “rewrite the history of the city.”

The incredible cave houses of Cappadocia, Turkey. Source: BigStockPhoto

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).

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. 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.

Nevşehir province in Cappadocia, Turkey (Wikimedia Commons)

Unlike other underground cities found throughout the region of Cappadocia, which were mostly used for temporary protection, Hurriyet Daily News reports that evidence has been found that ancient peoples were living there on a permanent basis, and that the subterranean passages and spaces are different to any other underground city found in the world.

“We have reached significant discoveries; new long tunnels and spaces where people lived all together. Places where linseed oil was produced, chapels and tunnels combining various living spaces in the underground city were found,” said Hasan Ünver, the mayor of Nevşehir. “This is a real underground city where they resided permanently and not like other underground cities where they had lived temporarily. We are definite that we will also reach very important information and discoveries regarding world history,” Ünver added [via Hurriyet Daily News].

An excavated section of the recently discovered underground city in Turkey, showing evidence of permanent habitation. Credit: Anadolu Agency.

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.

The mayor has said that they are planning to open the first part of the excavated underground city in 2017.

Ancient underground city in Cappadocia will 'rewrite history'

NEVŞEHİR - Anadolu Agency

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An underground city found in Turkey’s touristic Cappadocia will “rewrite the history of the city,” according to the mayor in the Central Anatolian Nevşehir province, adding they had discovered people had permanently lived in the underground city, unlike other cities which were mostly carved into rocks for temporary protection.

Hasan Ünver, the mayor of Nevşehir, where Cappadocia is located, said the new findings at the ancient underground city in the province would rewrite history. 

“When the works are finalized the history of Cappadocia will be rewritten,” said Ünver, adding the findings found during the excavations dated back as the Hittite era. 

“We have reached significant discoveries; new long tunnels and spaces where people lived all together. Places where linseed oil was produced, chapels and tunnels combining various living spaces in the underground city were found,” said Ünver. 

The underground city was discovered by a Turkish Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) urban transformation project. Some 1,500 buildings located in and around the Nevşehir fortress were demolished, and the underground city was discovered when the earthmoving to construct new buildings began.

Stating that the unearthed tunnels and spaces were different than other underground cities across the world, Ünver said ancient people had lived there permanently. 

“This is a real underground city where they resided permanently and not like other underground cities where they had lived temporarily,” said Ünver. “We are definite that we will also reach very important information and discoveries regarding world history.” 

The mayor said they planned for the opening of the first part of the underground city excavations in 2017, adding the digging was conducted under the guidance of archaeologist Semih İstanbulluoğlu and the control of the Culture and Tourism Ministry. 

İstanbulluoğlu said they predicted the history of the underground city to date back to even before the Hittites, adding this information would be confirmed after the finalization of the excavation’s laboratory work. 

He added they had found tobacco pipe-like objects made from meerschaum, adding they could not yet date them with certainty. 

“These can give clear information about the history of mankind,” İstanbulluoğlu said. 

Ünver said once the news hit that an underground city was discovered in Nevşehir, many researchers from various countries had come and visited the region. 

UNESCO representative Ashish Kothari had examined the underground city in June and was informed about the current restoration work in the region, where he took photos of historical artifacts unearthed during the excavation.

The area around the underground city in Nevşehir is best known world-wide for its “Fairy Chimney” rock formations, which are already on the UNESCO world heritage list.

Özcan Çakır, an associate professor at the geophysics engineering department of the 18 March University and involved in the excavations of the underground city, had said during the initials finding of the city in late 2014 they believed the tunnels were used to carry agricultural products.

“We believe that people, who were engaged in agriculture, were using the tunnels to carry agricultural products to the city. We also estimate that one of the tunnels passes under Nevşehir and reaches a faraway water source,” said Çakır.