Parts of the underground city lie beneath Nevşehir Castle. Image Credit:

Nat Geo



In 2014, those tunnels led scientists to discover a multilevel settlement of living spaces, kitchens, wineries, chapels, staircases, and bezirhane—linseed presses for producing lamp oil to light the underground city. Artifacts including grindstones, stone crosses, and ceramics indicate the city was in use from the Byzantine era through the Ottoman conquest.



Geophysicists from Nevşehir University conducted a systematic survey of a 1.5-mile (4-kilometer) area using geophysical resistivity and seismic tomography. From the 33 independent measurements they took, they estimate the site is nearly five million square feet (460,000 square meters).



These studies suggest the underground corridors may plunge as deep as 371 feet (113 meters). If that turns out to be accurate, the city could be larger than Derinkuyu by a third.

edit on 2015-3-29 by theantediluvian because: (no reason given)



Many of you reading this are likely familiar with the underground city of Derinkuyu in the Nevşehir Province of Turkey. An impressive subterranean complex, it is estimated to have been capable of housing as many as 20,000 people along with livestock and stores of food. What you may not know is that more than 200 underground complexes with two or more levels are known to exist in the Cappadocia region and the most recently discovered of these is massive.The city was found when workers demolishing buildings as part of an urban renewal project stumbled upon portions of the massive labyrinth of tunnels and chambers. It's estimated to be 5,000 years old and like Derinkuyu, contains everything necessary for a large populace to subsist underground for an extended period.From National Geographic Additional sources: