Derinkuyu: A 3,000 Year Old Mysterious Underground City

What do a temple in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and an underground metropolis in Turkey with a South American cave say to house a treasure from beyond the stars?

All of these sites have been ЬᴜгɪᴇԀ away for ages, and now as archaeology is advancing faster than ever, these strange places are resurfacing. Turkey has been the focus of attention due to several discoveries made in recent years, but one of those findings may be more significant than we previously believed.

The underground city Derinkuyu

One of the most meaningful finds in thousands of years has been made in Cappadocia, central Turkey. In 1963, what was meant to be a simple house improvement in Derinkuyu turned out to be one of Turkey’s most remarkable discoveries.

A cave wall was breached revealed a corridor to the underground city thousands of years old and over 280 feet (76 meters) deep. What was the aim of this fantastic underground city? And how did the Derinkuyu architects achieve such astounding engineering feats?

Over 15,000 ventilation shafts distribute air from the surface throughout the city. This ancient underground city was a perplexing building effort that we now, with our technology, would have a difficult time replicating.

Derinkuyu is an astounding feat, and it is truly mind-boggling how ancient man was able to construct an underground metropolis, this sophisticated thousands of years ago.

The geological characteristics of the stone from Derinkuyu are pretty essential; it is very soft. As a result, the ancient builders of Derinkuyu had to be very cautious when building these underground chambers, providing sufficient pillar strength to support the floors above; if this were not achieved, the city would have ᴄᴏʟʟɑρѕᴇԀ, but archaeologists have found no evidence of any “cave-ins” at Derinkuyu so far.

But what was the purpose of this magnificent ancient underground metropolis, which could house 20,000 to 30,000 people?

Why did ancient humans build this underground city?

Historians think that the city’s function was to defend its residents from attack around 800 B.C. Still, many historians disagree, claiming that it would have been an extraordinary engineering feat, far too advanced, merely to be used to shield people from invasion.

Yet the old Derinkuyu’s “security system” was just fantastic; one thousand pound rolling doors that could only be opened from the inside and could only be handled by one person. Each floor or level at Derinkuyu could have been locked individually with different combinations.

Several mysteries surround Derinkuyu, and the majority of these mysteries remain unsolved. Who created this massive underground city? What might have compelled more than 20,000 individuals to live underground?

Some historians and archaeologists believe that the Phrygians created this underground city, while others say the Hittites most likely built it. Still, others claim that Derinkuyu is considerably older than historians and archaeologists believe.

According to some experts who have examined the Derinkuyu underground city, the reason why thousands of people rushed underground might be connected to climate change. According to mainstream climatologists’ predictions, the last ice age peaked around 18,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago.

This theory could prove to be accurate according to many who have had time to study the history of Derinkuyu. They point toward one of the oldest religious traditions on the face of the Earth, which is the Zoroastrian religion. According to sacred texts, the great prophet Yima was instructed to build an underground refuge similar to Derinkuyu by the sky God Ahura Mazda to protect the people from a global ice age.

Was it to protect people from war, climate change? Or something else entirely?

Ancient Alien theorists believe Derinkuyu was built for protection, but from an aerial enemy, stating that it would be the only logical reason to hide underground; to remain unseen, saying that the complex security mechanism of Derinkuyu was put in place to prevent the underground city from being found, and it was hidden underground, where no one might suspect that over 20,000 people are hidden.

The question raised by the discovery of Derinkuyu is something that historians and researchers will debate over in the future. We can only hope that evidence will be found one day that will give us further insight into this ancient underground city.