Underground cities of ancient people and contemporaries

The unknown has always intrigued humanity. Underground cities, especially ancient ones, attract interest as a magnet. The most attractive are those that are open, but little studied. Some of the underground cities in the world have not yet been explored, but scientists are not to blame for this - all attempts to penetrate them end in the death of researchers.

There are many legends and scientific assumptions about who and for what created these structures. Some suggest that these were the asylum of ancient people, others hypothesize that underground cities were built by extinct terrestrial or extraterrestrial civilizations. After all, there are fairy tales and fantastic stories about peoples living underground, but there is no evidence that everything in them is a complete invention.

Derinkuyu is an underground city in Turkey, the most explored and known to date. It was discovered in 1963 in Central Cappadocia. On this territory there is a whole network of multi-tiered cities that go into the depths of the earth. According to the Turkish scientists, the lowest level of Derinkuyu open to the level reaches 85 meters. Under the assumptions of the researchers, below are still about 20 tiers. At the moment, there are 12 floors open for tourists. On each tier you can find premises intended for housing, for keeping pets, temples, underground wells, ventilation shafts. But about who and when he built underground cities in Cappadocia, there are still disputes. Some scholars date the appearance of VI century BC. E., Suggesting that their early Christians created them as a refuge from persecution. Others argue that the network of cities originated more than 13 million years ago and was built by an unknown ancient civilization. One way or another, but not a single burial of those who created this masterpiece of underground architecture has been found.

No less interesting are the underground cities built in the last century in different countries by our contemporaries. For example, Burlington, built in England for the British government. Its construction took place in the 50s of the last century and was intended to hide the leadership of the country from a nuclear strike. Despite the small size of the dungeon (total 1000 square meters), it could accommodate up to 4000 people at a time. The city built hospitals, railway stations, roads and a kind of tanker for drinking water. Throughout the Cold War, Burlington was kept in full readiness for acceptance of people.

The Chinese leader Mao Zedong surpassed the English. He built a secret underground city near Beijing, which stretches for 30 km. Although its purpose was to protect members of the government and their families in the event of war, the infrastructure of the city is quite large. In the cave were built hospitals, shops, schools, hairdressers and even a stadium for roller skating. Also in it was a ramified network of bomb shelters. Almost half the population of the upper city could live in the underground city of Beijing. There are even suggestions that in many houses of the capital there are special mines that allow you to quickly descend into the dungeon. Since 2000 the city is open for mass visits. Most of the territory is given to youth hostels.