Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (Photo : REUTERS/Murad Sezer )

A group of construction workers stumbled upon on underground tunnel that has led to the discovery of a huge ancient city in Turkey. The city is situated inside a hilltop, beneath a castle that dates back to early Byzantine era and is said to be a place of hiding for Cappadocians.



According to National Geographic, in 2013, the construction workers came across a tunnel consisting of rooms while demolishing low-income homes near the Byzantine-era castle in Nevsehir, the region in central Turkey. The construction workers reportedly stopped their work at the site and researchers were involved for further investigation.




A 300-year-old document talking about the existence and location of 30 water tunnels helped the researchers in discovering the ancient city. Through these tunnels, archeologists and geophysicists discovered living spaces consisting of kitchens, wineries, chapels, artifacts and more. The publication notes the discovery of these items indicate that the city was inhabited from the Byzantine era through Ottoman invasion.



The abovementioned publication suggests that this newly discovered ancient underground city may rival Derinkuyu, the largest ancient multilevel underground city in Cappadocia--with the capacity of sheltering approximately 20,000 people. There seems to be some similarities between the two underground cities. It is noted that just like Dereinkuyu, this city also has huge self-sustaining complex equipped with air shafts and water channels.



As for the city's size, geophysicist from Nevsehir University estimate it to be approximately five million square feet and the depth of the underground corridors is estimated to be 371 feet deep, possibly making it larger than Derinkuyu. However, the Nevsehir Museum director Murat Gulyaz insists that the exact size of this Turkish ancient city remains unknown.



"This new discovery will be added as a new pearl, a new diamond, a new gold" told Hasan Unver, the Nevsehir mayor. He reportedly plans to convert the city into "world's largest antique park."



Meanwhile, Hurriyet Daily News calls the discovery of this ancient Turkish underground city as the "year's biggest archaeological discovery." The work of its cleaning has already begun and the researchers are using geo-radar machines to clear the rubble.

