5000-year-old underground metropolis found in central Turkey, was the largest underground city in the world. Its area exceeds the area of all the previously found ancient underground settlements and a network of secret rooms and corridors was a sensation for archaeologists! Previously unknown to the ancient metropolis was found in the project for the building of the city administration initiated by Turkey's Housing Development in the province of Nevsehir in central Anatolia. During the excavation works in the area which was to be used for the construction of new buildings, developers ran into a massive underground network of tunnels, caves, corridors and rooms covering more than 7 km.
In fact , this is not the first time that an underground settlement accidentally discovered in Turkey. The region of Cappadocia , Nevsehir Province where is known worldwide for its rich historical and archaeological heritage , because once the area was a province of the Roman Empire .
The upper levels of the underground complex were first seen in 2013, but its full size became apparent only in late 2014. Despite the fact that the project for the building of the city of 90 million YTL was spent (about $ 35 million), construction was delayed and the place of the underground city location registered in the Council of Turkey for the preservation of cultural and national heritage. At the same time protected today in Turkey is already 44 historical object! "Underground City discovered when builders laying the foundation. The length of its underground galleries of more than 7 kilometers, but the exact figure is, unfortunately, not been established. Building a project worth 90 million Turkish liras (about $ 45 million) was stopped immediately, but we do not regret it. Discovered our underground city is likely to become the largest not only in Turkey but also all over the world ", - says head of the Department of Housing Mehmet Turan.
At the moment, it is believed that the newly found complex, which consists of a network of rooms and tunnels carved and contains hidden temples and numerous artifacts, was built around 5000 years ago, and he really could be the world's largest underground city. Without a doubt, this is the biggest among other archaeological sites in Nevsehir, which is famous for its vast underground cities and villages. It even exceeds the size of the famous city of Derinkuyu, which is believed to have once lived almost 20 000 people in multiple rooms of many miles of underground tunnels. Nevsehir Mayor Hasan Unver noted that other underground cities of the country have kitchens size compared with the newly discovered complex.
Despite the fact that very little is known about the new underground metropolis, archaeologists have made several hypotheses about his possible appointment. For example, Ozcan Cakir said that the city may have served primarily for the storage and transportation of agricultural products. "We believe that people who are engaged in agriculture, using tunnels to supply its products to different parts of the city. We are also confident that one of the tunnels that pass under the Nevsehir, was intended for the city due to the far-located water source ", - he said. Not so long ago discovered the ancient underground city of Nevşehir stores in their rooms are still many secrets and unsolved mysteries. Only further excavations and archaeological studies will shed more light on this unique discovery. And we can only wait for news, and the happy moment when the 5000-year-old city will be open for tourists!