The region of Cappadocia in central Turkey (pictured below) is no stranger to massive and intricate underground cities. Beneath the 100-square-mile World Heritage site are more than 200 underground villages and tunnel towns. The rocky region is most famous for Derinkuyu, an ancient subterranean city that was home to as many as 20,000 residents in the Byzantine era. The multi-level town incorporated areas for sleeping, livestock, working wells and water tanks, pits for cooking, food stores, bathrooms, ventilation shafts, and even tombs to bury the dead. Impressive, right?
Well, archaeologists believe the new discovery could actually surpass Derinkuyu in both size and scope, setting the site up to be the largest subterranean city in the world. Archaeologists first spotted the site in 2013 during construction for an urban transformation project. Details about the new discovery have yet to be revealed, but early reports claim the site consists of at least 3.5 miles of tunnels, hidden churches, and escape galleries that date back at least 5,000 years. Researchers have reportedly retrieved more than 40 artifacts from the tunnels. Local media are calling the site the "biggest archeological finding of 2014." --Lauren Hansen
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Tutankhamun: the mystery of the boy pharaoh's pierced earsUnder the Radar Researchers believe piercings suggest the iconic funerary mask may have been intended for a woman
-
Exploring Easter Island, one of the world's most remote inhabited islandsThe Week Recommends It takes time and effort to travel to this mystical locale
-
Linda McMahon, the former wrestling mogul tapped for Department of EducationIn the Spotlight Longtime Trump ally set for nomination as secretary of the agency despite limited background in the field
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
