Archaeologists excavate a ridiculously huge underground ancient city in Turkey

Archaeologists in Turkey are hard at work — they're excavating an entire city that was discovered underground in 2014. Construction crews made the shocking discovery while working on a project for Turkey's Housing Development Administration.

The mysterious city, which includes 11 neighborhoods, lies beneath central Anatolia's Nevsehir province and is filled with caves, tunnels, and even churches. Archaeologists believe the city is around 5,000 years old.

The archaeologists think the city's tunnels were used for transporting agricultural items. They have taken 44 objects from the underground city for preservation.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

After measuring the exact locations of the city's chambers and passages with geo-radar machines, they will open the city to the public. When the restoration work is complete, Nevsehir will build a museum, art galleries, and even hotels in the underground city, Nevsehir Mayor Hasan Unver told Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News.