Underground cities of Russia: why are they needed? Mysterious underground city in Beijing Modern underground cities
Underground cities were built for different purposes. In the Ancient World, they served as good protection and shelter for a large number of families. In our time, underground cities were built (as a secret facility) at the height of the Second World War. In this article we will talk about the most famous of them.
Derinkuyu in Cappadocia
Scientists and archaeologists agree that this is the largest underground city in the world. In general, this region of the country is famous for the remains of ancient underground settlements, there are more than 200 of them. It was beneficial for underground cities to develop in this area: this was facilitated by the features of the landscape and its geology. According to research, underground cities went down 20 floors. Derinkuyu is the largest one found. Eight floors are already open to the curious eyes of tourists, which can accommodate 20,000 people. There were rooms for sleeping, storing crops and finished products, bakeries, wineries and a pagan temple. A competent ventilation system provided fresh air flows and allowed not to go out into the light for at least a lifetime.It is believed that Derinkuyu was a refuge for Christians who were hiding from the persecution of the pagans, and then from the Muslims.
Naur in France
This underground city of refuge was built in the Middle Ages and served its intended purpose until the 17th century. There, the inhabitants hid from the invaders, the Normans and the British during the Hundred Years War. Later, the dungeons were used as warehouses for stocks of crops and food. Up to three thousand people could fit in the underground city, it even had its own tiny church.
Coober Pedy in Australia
A rare example of how some people still prefer to live in underground cities. Initially, people settled underground due to frequent dust storms and high temperatures and arid climates. It was cool underground, besides, you could immediately get into the mine (most of the city's inhabitants were engaged in the extraction of opals). Everything is there for a comfortable life: electricity, sewerage and water supply, so many residents do not see the point in spending money on air conditioners and building a house and continue to live underground.
Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland
Rock salt was mined in this picturesque dungeon from the 12th to the 20th century. But this is not just a mine, but a home for many generations of workers. In order to somehow decorate their life, the miners carved sculptures from salt, equipped the dungeons, and now the mine has become one of the most attractive places for excursions. There are a lot of corridors, living quarters, cafes and even a cinema.Paris and Naples, Rome and Kharkov, Moscow and Odessa... What unites all these cities? The presence of an extensive system of underground passages and tunnels under them, built at different times and for different purposes. In this article you will find the most interesting facts about the underground cities of the world. Many do not even suspect that some of them are connected with the territory of Russia.
Underground cities of the world: history and modernity
Incredibly, within the former USSR, there are more than two thousand artificial objects built underground at different times and eras. Historians date the most ancient underground cities to the 14th millennium BC. e. This is the so-called "Stone Grave", which is located near the village of Terpenye in Ukraine.
To date, underground cities and various catacomb-type objects have been discovered in different parts of the globe: in France, in Italy and Spain, in Malta, in Turkey, Germany, Russia, the Czech Republic, in Ukraine ... This list can be continued for a very, very long time .
The underground cities of Paris are a whole network of tunnels and galleries, the total length of which is almost 300 kilometers! And what is most surprising - the first underground passages were built here before the birth of Christ.
Under Rome there are underground cities, the age of which is more solid than that of Paris. Today, forty catacombs are known, once hollowed out in tuffs - the porous rock of the Apennine Peninsula. Their total length, according to some sources, can reach 500 kilometers.
The Neapolitan catacombs are also widely known (there are about 400 in total). Researchers found under this city not only a network of tunnels, but also the remains of a water supply system, aqueducts and food storage facilities.
Several underground cities are located in the Cappadocia region in Turkey. More recently, an underground city was found there, in which about 20 thousand people could simultaneously live! Archaeologists have found in it not only the remains of residential premises, but even traces of churches and wineries.
The underground cities of Russia are also known. Some of them are surrounded by many secrets and mysteries. First of all, we are talking about the underground city of Yamantau, as well as the dungeons in Ramenki (Moscow).
"Cities underground": why were they built?
The main secret of underground cities (most of them) is why they were created. Several main reasons can be identified.
- Residential structures were built underground so that they could hide from enemy attacks from the outside.
- People "buried" underground for industrial purposes, in particular, to extract valuable rocks from it. So, in Paris in the XI century, a large network of catacombs for limestone mining was created. But in Chisinau in the 19th century, many kilometers of dungeons were created for other purposes - to store wine in them.
- Dungeons have been used by people since ancient times as a place for burial. In particular, the remains of about 800 thousand people are now buried near Rome, and almost 6 million near Paris.
- Underground tunnels were created by people for religious purposes, for prayers and solitude. An example is the artificial caves hollowed out by the monks in Kyiv and Chernigov.
Underground cities are created in our time, but to perform other functions. Urbanists argue that any city first grows in breadth, then - up, and even later - goes underground. In many of the largest megacities of our time, dungeons are actively used: parking lots, huge shopping malls, cafes and restaurants, even offices of large companies are located there.
Derinkuyu underground city in Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historically unique area in Turkey, in which a whole complex of underground cities and monasteries has been preserved. The largest of them is the ancient city of Derinkuyu. Today it is fully landscaped for tourists to visit.
The underground city of Derinkuyu began to be built in the second millennium BC. People hid in its tunnels and halls during the raids of aggressive nomads. The city consists of eight tiers, going to a depth of 60 meters.
A unique monument of history and underground architecture was discovered by scientists only in the 60s of the twentieth century. To date, only 15% of the area of the entire city has been studied. However, scientists have already calculated that up to 20 thousand people could hide in it at the same time!
Derinkuyu is a complex and intricate system of halls, rooms and passages, both horizontal and vertical. Apparently, the underground city was built in such a way that a potential enemy, getting into it, could easily get lost there.
Derinkuyu tunnels are carved into a very soft and pliable rock - volcanic tuff. At the same time, this rock quickly hardens on contact with air, which makes it an ideal material for creating underground structures. Researchers have already established that Derinkuyu had everything necessary for the long life of a large number of people - living rooms, stables, livestock buildings, cellars, bakeries, wells, and even their underground churches.
Damanhur - the eighth wonder of the world
Damanhur is not only a unique underground city in Italy, but also a world-famous scientific and environmental community. Recently, the lifestyle of this community was evaluated by the UN as a model for the sustainable development of the future.
The community borrowed its name from the ancient Egyptian city of Damanhur, which in translation means: "the abode of Horus." It was in this city that entire generations of priests of Ancient Egypt were trained.
Today Damanhur is a whole underground complex carved into a sheer rock in northern Italy. The underground city consists of five levels and several temples over 30 meters high. But not only the architecture of this place is striking, but also its inhabitants. These are people with the most interesting teachings, combining ancient knowledge with the latest developments in the field of psychology and medicine. The inhabitants of Damanhur are known for performing specific rites of rejuvenation, as well as healing from various ailments, which attract a considerable number of tourists from all over the world. Various tour operators organize trips to Damanhur in order to acquaint everyone with the inhabitants of an unusual city, as well as with their philosophy and scientific activities.
Catacombs of Naples
One of the main attractions of the Italian city of Naples are its catacombs.
Today, under this city, several systems of ancient catacombs have been preserved. All of them are ennobled and qualitatively restored. You can get into the Neapolitan catacombs only with a guide. The entrance ticket is not very expensive - only 8 euros. The tour of the catacombs lasts about one hour.
The most interesting in Naples is the catacomb system of San Gennarro, which began to be created in the second century. And two centuries later, the martyr Januarius was buried here. The purpose of these catacombs was one - funeral. Underground tunnels were built before the 5th century; as a result, the catacombs of San Gennarro have two horizontal levels - upper and lower.
On the lower level of the catacombs, the vaults of the underground passages are decorated with stunning paintings. On them you can still see the images of David and Goliath, the goddess Victoria, as well as Adam and Eve. The lower tier includes three galleries, the most interesting of which is the central one. Here tourists can see mosaics depicting vines and peacocks - a symbol of immortality. Most of these ancient mosaics are being restored today.
Odessa catacombs
Odessa is not only the sea and humor. Under South Palmyra there is a system of catacombs, unique in its scale, created at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It includes dozens of quarries and mine workings, which are interconnected by a complex and intricate labyrinth of passages. Their total length is 2500 kilometers. For comparison: a similar system of underground tunnels near Paris has a length of only 500 km.
Odessa catacombs are a real monument of history and geology. It is surprising that it still does not have the appropriate legal status.
Underground voids and labyrinths appeared near Odessa as a result of the extraction of shell rock - a material that was once actively used for the construction of the city and its buildings. The system of artificially created catacombs is additionally complicated by natural karst cavities.
The first quarries appeared here in the middle of the 19th century. They mined the so-called Pontic limestone to meet the needs of the young city in construction. By the beginning of the 20th century, underground mining was already carried out so intensively that cases of failures, subsidence and even collapse of entire buildings became frequent in the city.
During World War II, the Odessa catacombs became a safe haven for Soviet partisan detachments. In particular, the life and struggle of partisans in the catacombs of Odessa against the Nazi invaders are perfectly described in V. Kataev's novel "Waves of the Black Sea".
Minsk and its "underground city"
An excellent example of a modern underground structure is the underground city in Minsk (Belarus). This is a shopping center with the appropriate name "Underground City". It is located really underground, right under the department store "Belarus", built in Soviet times. You can get to it from the Partizanskaya metro station.
The unique shopping center was built after the collapse of the USSR. It consists of one underground hall of enormous size. It has at least two hundred stores located in several rows. Here you can buy anything: from cosmetics and souvenirs to expensive jewelry.
As for the historical underground passages of old Minsk, they most likely have not been preserved. True, there is a legend that there is an old underground passage under Freedom Square, connecting the Jesuit church with the Bernardine monastery. Of interest to stalkers and diggers are also the collectors of underground rivers and streams of Minsk, which stretch under the city for several kilometers.
Secrets of the Moscow microdistrict Ramenki
Is there an underground city near Moscow? Many people ask themselves this question.
The fact that in the Russian capital there is a huge underground city in Ramenki, right under the residential area, probably every Muscovite has heard. It is believed that up to 15 thousand people can hide in it in the event of a nuclear war. The secret underground city is approximately located under the section from Moscow State University to Udaltsova Street. By the way, the fact that this area has not been built up for a long time speaks in favor of the hypothesis of the existence of this city.
According to certain sources, the underground city in Ramenki began to be created back in the 60s of the last century. Construction continued in complete secrecy until 1979.
The underground city was created completely habitable in case of a nuclear attack. Presumably, the Moscow State University complex is directly connected to it by an underground tunnel, the purpose of which was to be the instant delivery of the country's "best minds" to a safe place in case of a military threat.
The secret second capital of Russia
Recently, more and more people are talking about a secret facility called Yamantau. The underground city for Russian President Vladimir Putin is allegedly located in a mountain near the town of Mezhgorye, in Bashkortostan.
It is known that active construction work is underway in this area. But what exactly is being built there is unclear. Some argue that a "spare" capital of Russia is being created in Mount Yamantau - an underground city designed for 300,000 inhabitants.
There are quite a lot of so-called "closed" cities in Russia. However, there is no military base, research institute, or any other secret institution in Mezhhirya. But the city-forming enterprise of a small town is the US-30 construction company, which prompts certain thoughts.
The most popular version is that an underground city is being created in Mezhgorye in case of the Third World War. By the way, the idea of city-backup capitals is not new at all; it is being successfully developed, for example, in Japan and the Republic of Korea. According to sources, a network of tunnels with a total length of about 500 kilometers has already been created under Mount Yamantau in Bashkortostan.
Metro - the underground "city" of Moscow
The metro in a large metropolis has long been perceived as a separate and large underground city. And Moscow is no exception in this regard.
Rumors that, in addition to quite official ones, there are secret metro lines near Moscow appeared quite a long time ago. And over the years, they have already managed to acquire various hypotheses and versions, often extremely fantastic and incredible.
So, for the first time the routes of the secret lines of the Moscow metro were published in 1992. The most interesting is the so-called "secret line No. 1" linking the Kremlin with Vnukovo-2 airport. By the way, it also passes through a hypothetically existing underground city in Ramenki. The line was built back in 1967 and has a length of 27 kilometers.
Finally...
Underground cities were created and continue to be created in our time. Previously, they served people for different purposes: they protected from attacks by enemies, gave shelter to monks and hermits, and acted as burial places. Some of them hide many secrets and mysteries, which scientists, historians and archaeologists have yet to unravel.
Today, underground cities very often host car parks, company offices, as well as large shopping centers.
Incredible Facts
Many have heard that people sometimes go to live in caves, abandoned mines or underground tunnels. In the literature one can often find tales of underground people. However, underground cities exist not only in novels and films. They are very real.
Underground cities were built primarily to protect against enemies, wild animals, weather, and even illegal activities. find out about the most interesting underground cities in the world and interesting facts related to them.
1) Secret underground city in Beijing, China
Since 1969 and over the next decade by order Mao Tse-tung in Beijing began to build an underground emergency shelter for the government. This shelter stretched under Beijing for a distance 30 kilometers. The giant city was built during the period of the Sino-Soviet split, and its only purpose was to defend in case of war.
Entrance to the Beijing Underground City
This underground city contained shops, restaurants, schools, theatres, hairdressers and even a roller skating rink. In the city one could also find about thousands of bomb shelters, and he could simultaneously accommodate up to 40 percent residents of Beijing in case of war.
Today, tourists roam the underground streets of Beijing
There were rumors that houses in Beijing have secret hatches, which allowed residents to quickly descend into this underground complex in case of danger. In 2000, the giant underground city was officially opened to tourists, and some of its shelters are used as youth hostels.
2) Putin's underground city Yamantau, Russia
Close to ski resort "Abzakovo", 60 kilometers from Magnitogorsk, which is in the south of the Urals, according to some sources, is located secret underground city for members of the Russian government. The secret base is covered with a lot of rumors and assumptions, including, they say that this object was started to be built during the Cold War.
Ski resort "Abzakovo", South Ural, Russia
President Putin visiting a ski resort "Abzakovo" quite often, however, he never answered the questions why this particular place attracts the president so much. Rumors spread that it was not skiing that was the main reason for coming, but construction of a secret underground city on Mount Yamantau.
Mount Yamantau in Bashkortostan
Talking about the city in the 1990s in the American and other foreign press. Foreign journalists tried to get at least some details from officials, but their attempts were unsuccessful. It is very likely that the articles themselves were based more on hearsay than on real facts.
3) Underground city near Moscow, Russia
Everyone knows that Moscow is all cut up underground tunnels, passages and subway structures, which in Soviet times was considered the most beautiful, fastest and largest metro in the world. Much has changed today, but people still talk about mysteries of the underground city near Moscow- a series of underground bunkers built back in Soviet times, and maybe even earlier.
"Secret Subway" Moscow really exists and is intended, first of all, for the military and members of the government in case of a nuclear war or other dangerous situations. Secret lines connect major government facilities, including the Kremlin, the building of the Ministry of Defense and so on.
Secret subway lines, according to some very curious researchers of this issue, no different from the main lines. Why not connect some of these lines to the main lines, given how busy the Moscow metro is today? Apparently, there are reasons for this, and the underground city is waiting in the wings.
4) Rock City Setenil de las Bodegas, Spain
Unlike many other underground cities, this city in Spain lives a full life and accommodates about 3 thousand inhabitants. Some of the houses in this city are not completely underground, but are carved into the rock, which makes the city landscapes especially unusual. The houses seem to be buried in stones.
Thanks to such unusual buildings, the town attracts many tourists who come here to see unique cave houses. In ancient times, the city served as a fortress.
5) Cave city Chufut-Kale, Crimea
This cave city, located in the Crimea, was built during the early Middle Ages, and although most of it turned into ruins, some ancient buildings still remained: caves, the mausoleum of the daughter of Khan Tokhtamysh, gates and others.
Entrances to the underground dwellings of the ghost town of Chufut-Kale
Initially, the city was inhabited Alans- Iranian-speaking tribes, later moved here Cumans, A in the 14th century started flocking here Karaites, and by the time of the formation of the Crimean Khanate, most likely, they were the main inhabitants. At one time, the khan of the independent Crimea even permanently lived in Chufut-Kale. Late 19th century the city was completely abandoned by the inhabitants.
6) Secret cellars of Moose-Jo gangsters, Canada
Underground cities were sometimes built not at all for protection during military conflicts, but for protection during harsh weather conditions. For example, the city of Moose Jo in central Canada has a series of tunnels and underpasses that were built to keep workers warm. However, these underground premises very soon after construction began to be used for illegal purposes.
Tunnels Moose Jaw chosen criminal figures, smugglers and bandits during Prohibition in the United States. The underground city turned into a mini Las Vegas and hosted illegal establishments where casinos and prostitution flourished. They say that Chicago mobster Al Capone had something to do with these basements, so they began to call them "Chicago Connection".
Today in the "Chicago connection" - a museum where there is a weapons room, a wine cellar and many interesting things from the time of gangsters
7) The Mysterious City of the Gods in Egypt
Great Pyramids of Giza- the only one of the wonders of the ancient world that has come down to us. Many researchers believe that something incredible is located under the Giza plateau, namely series of underground tunnels and chambers.
Beginning since 1978, the researchers began to map out the outlines of a massive underground complex that could potentially be a huge underground city.
Known by the name "City of the Gods", this city still hides many secrets. Since it is located directly under one of the most important historical monuments in the world, the integrity of which no one will disturb, it is unlikely that these secrets will be easily opened in the near future.
Opponents of the theory of the City of the Gods are convinced that there is no underground city under the pyramids, and the story about it was invented, to attract more tourists.
8) Coober Pedy Underground Gem City, Australia
coober pedy is a city that is still inhabited. It is located in the desert part of central Australia, and is home to about 1600 inhabitants. The city is considered "capital of opal", since more of this semi-precious stone is mined here than anywhere else on the planet.
Entrance to the Coober Pedy dungeon: it's hard to imagine what's hiding underground
The city is located underground houses - dugouts, which were dug to protect themselves from the scorching desert sun, as well as to protect children from wild dingoes and local natives.
Opal deposits were first discovered in Coober Pedy in 1915, since then these places have been inhabited by gemstone hunters. If you have an opal jewelry, there is every chance that this the stone was brought from Australia, or rather, from the mines of Coober Pedy. Under the ground you can find not only the dwellings of local residents, but also restaurants, shops and even a church and a cemetery!
9) Island City with Underground Restaurants Kish, Iran
In the dungeon Kish city in Iran hides a mysterious city that is so shrouded in mystery that it doesn't even have an official name. Some people call this city Kariz, however, tourists often call it the Underground City of Kish. Underground premises have a total area of about 10,000 square meters.
This dungeon is more than 2.5 thousand years old and was originally used as reservoir and water supply system. Like many other ancient cities, this city has been renovated and turned into a tourist site. Today here you can find cozy underground restaurants, shops and other establishments.
10) Burlington Underground Bunker, England
There is also a secret underground city in England, it got the name Burlington. This city was built in the 1950s for the British government to be able to take cover in the event of a nuclear war. The dungeon is not very large - only a thousand square meters, but it could easily fit about 4 thousand people.
The city had underground highways, railway stations, hospitals, and even an underground lake for storing drinking water. There was also a BBC station in the city so that the Prime Minister could address those who were left upstairs. Burlington is on standby until until 1991 after which the Cold War ended.
Which city has an underground tram?
Underground cities and tunnels can be used by underground transport, in particular trams and trolleybuses, and not just metro trains. Underground trams are available in many cities, for example:
Krivoy Rog, Ukraine
High-speed underground tram in Volgograd, Russia
It is known that many Russian rich people build, in addition to ground dwellings, entire underground bunkers, mainly for personal safety.
Plan of underground Moscow. Soon the main Russian city will grow not up, but down
In Yakutia (Eastern Siberia), on the site of a man-made mine crater, they want to build an underground city Eco-City 2020 with a capacity of 100 thousand people
You can read about other amazing underground cities and caves.
Recently, a huge complex of underground cities located on several tiers and connected by tunnels was discovered in Turkey (Cappadocia). Underground shelters were built by an unknown people in ancient times.
Erik von Däniken, in his book In the Footsteps of the Almighty, describes these refuges as follows:
...giant underground cities were discovered, designed for many thousands of inhabitants. The most famous of them are located under the modern village of Derinkuyu. The entrances to the underworld are hidden under the houses. Here and there in the area there are ventilation holes leading far inland. The dungeon is cut through by tunnels connecting rooms. The first floor from Derinkuyu village covers an area of four square kilometers, and the fifth floor room can accommodate 10,000 people. It is estimated that 300 thousand people can simultaneously fit in this underground complex.
Only the underground structures of Derinkuyu have 52 ventilation shafts and 15,000 entrances. The largest mine reaches a depth of 85 meters. The lower part of the city served as a reservoir for water ...
To date, 36 underground cities have been discovered in this area. Not all of them are on the scale of Kaimakli or Derinkuyu, but their plans were carefully crafted. People who know this area well believe that there are still many underground structures. All the cities known today are interconnected by tunnels.
These underground shelters with huge stone latches, warehouses, kitchens and ventilation shafts are featured in Eric von Däniken's documentary In the Footsteps of the Almighty. The author of the film suggested that the ancient people hid in them from some kind of threat emanating from heaven.
In many regions of our planet, there are numerous mysterious underground structures of an incomprehensible purpose to us. In the Sahara desert (Ghat oasis) near the Algerian border (10° west longitude and 25° north latitude), there is a whole system of tunnels and underground utilities, which are carved into the rock, underground. The main adits are 3 meters high and 4 meters wide. In some places, the distance between the tunnels is less than 6 meters. The average length of the tunnels is 4.8 kilometers, and their total length (together with auxiliary adits) is 1600 kilometers.
The modern Channel Tunnel looks like child's play compared to these structures. There is an assumption that these underground corridors were intended to supply water to the desert regions of the Sahara. But it would be much easier to dig irrigation canals on the surface of the earth. In addition, in those distant times, the climate in this region was humid, there was heavy rainfall - and there was no particular need for irrigation of the land.
To dig these passages underground, it was necessary to extract 20 million cubic meters of rock - this is many times the volume of all the built Egyptian pyramids. The work is truly titanic. It is almost impossible to carry out the construction of underground communications in such a volume using even modern technical means. Scientists attribute these underground communications to the 5th millennium BC. e., that is, by the time when our ancestors only learned to build primitive huts and use stone tools. Who, then, built these grandiose tunnels and for what purpose?
In the first half of the 16th century, Francisco Pizarro discovered the entrance to a cave in the Peruvian Andes, covered with rock blocks. It was located at an altitude of 6770 meters above sea level on Mount Huascaran. A speleological expedition organized in 1971, examining a system of tunnels consisting of several levels, discovered hermetic doors, which, despite their massiveness, easily turned to open the entrance. The floor of the underground passages is paved with blocks treated in such a way as to prevent slipping (the tunnels leading to the ocean have a slope of about 14 °). According to various estimates, the total length of communications is from 88 to 105 kilometers. It is assumed that earlier the tunnels led to the island of Guanape, but it is rather difficult to verify this hypothesis, because the passages end in a lake of salty sea water.
In 1965, in Ecuador (province of Morona-Santiago), between the cities of Galaquiza, San Antonio and Yopi, Argentinean Juan Morich discovered a system of tunnels and ventilation shafts with a total length of several hundred kilometers. The entrance to this system looks like a neat cut in the rock the size of a barn gate. The tunnels have a rectangular section with varying widths and sometimes turn at right angles. The walls of underground utilities are covered with a kind of glaze, as if they were treated with some kind of solvent or exposed to high temperatures. Interestingly, no rock dumps from the tunnels were found near the exit.
The underground passage leads in succession to underground platforms and huge halls located at a depth of 240 meters, with ventilation openings 70 centimeters wide. In the center of one of the halls, measuring 110 x 130 meters, there is a table and seven thrones made of an unknown material similar to plastic. A whole gallery of large golden figures depicting animals was also found there: elephants, crocodiles, lions, camels, bison, bears, monkeys, wolves, jaguars, crabs, snails and even dinosaurs. The researchers also found a "library" consisting of several thousand metal embossed plates measuring 45 x 90 centimeters, covered with incomprehensible signs. The priest Father Carlo Crespi, who conducted archaeological research there with the permission of the Vatican, states:
All the finds taken out of the tunnels belong to the pre-Christian era, and most of the symbols and prehistoric images are from the ancient times of the Flood.
In 1972, Eric von Daniken met with Juan Moric and persuaded him to show the ancient tunnels. The researcher agreed, but on one condition - not to photograph the underground labyrinths. In his book, Daniken writes:
To better understand what was happening, the guides made us walk the last 40 kilometers. We are very tired; the tropics have exhausted us. Finally, we came to a hill that has many entrances into the depths of the Earth.
The entrance we chose was almost invisible due to the vegetation covering it. It was wider than a railway station. We passed through a tunnel that was about 40 meters wide; its flat ceiling showed no signs of connecting devices.
The entrance to it was located at the foot of the Los Tayos hill, and at least the first 200 meters went simply down towards the center of the massif. The height of the tunnel was about 230 centimeters, there was a floor partially covered with bird droppings, a layer of about 80 centimeters. Among the garbage and droppings, metal and stone figures were constantly coming across. The floor was made of worked stone.
We lit our way with carbide lamps. There were no traces of soot in these caves. According to legend, their inhabitants illuminated the road with golden mirrors that reflected sunlight, or with a light-gathering system using emeralds. This last solution reminded us of the laser principle. The walls are also covered with very well-crafted stones. The admiration caused by the buildings of Machu Picchu is reduced when you see this work. The stone is smoothly polished and has straight edges. The ribs are not rounded. The junctions of the stones are barely visible. Judging by some of the worked blocks lying on the floor, there were no subsidences, since the surrounding walls are finished and completely finished. What is it - the inaccuracy of the creators, who, having finished the work, left pieces behind them, or did they think to continue their work?
The walls are almost completely covered with reliefs of animals - both modern and extinct. Dinosaurs, elephants, jaguars, crocodiles, monkeys, crayfish - all headed towards the center. We found a carved inscription - a square with rounded corners, with a side of about 12 centimeters. Groups of geometric figures varied between two and four units of varying length, appearing to be placed in a vertical and horizontal form. From one to another this order was not repeated. Is it a number system or a computer program? Just in case, the expedition was equipped with an oxygen supply system, but it was not needed. Even today, the ventilation ducts cut vertically into the hill are well preserved and have performed their function. When exiting to the surface, some of them are covered with lids. It is difficult to detect them from the outside, only sometimes a bottomless well is shown among the groups of stones.
The ceiling in the tunnel is low, without relief. Outwardly, it looks like it was made of rough processed stone. However, it is soft to the touch. The heat and damp have disappeared, making the journey easier. We reached a wall of cut stone that separated our path. On both sides of the wide tunnel through which we descended, a path opened to a narrower passage. We moved on to one of those that went to the left. We later discovered that another passage led in the same direction. We walked about 1200 meters through these passages, only to find a stone wall blocking our path. Our guide extended his hand to some point, and at the same time two stone doors 35 centimeters wide opened.
We stopped, holding our breath, at the mouth of a huge cave with dimensions that cannot be determined with the naked eye. One side was about 5 meters high. The dimensions of the cave were approximately 110 x 130 meters, although its shape is not rectangular.
The conductor whistled, and various shadows crossed the "living room". Birds, butterflies flew, no one understood where. Various tunnels have opened up. Our guide said that this Great Room is always clean. Everywhere on the walls are painted animals and drawn squares. And they all connect with each other. There was a table and several chairs in the middle of the Living Room. Men sit down, leaning back; but these chairs are for taller people. They are designed for statues about 2 meters high. At first glance, the table and chairs are made of simple stone. However, if touched, they will be made of plastic material, almost worn and completely smooth. The table, measuring approximately 3 x 6 meters, is supported only by a cylindrical base with a diameter of 77 centimeters. The thickness of the top is about 30 centimeters. There are five chairs on one side of it, and six or seven on the other. If you touch the inside of the table top, you feel the texture and coldness of the stone, making you think it is covered with an unknown material. First, the guide led us to another hidden door. Once again, two sections of stone slid open effortlessly, revealing yet another smaller living space. It had a mass of shelves with volumes, and in the middle between them there was a passage, like in a modern book warehouse. They, too, were made of some kind of cold material, soft, but with edges that almost cut into the skin. Stone, petrified wood or metal? Hard to understand.
Each such volume was 90 centimeters high and 45 centimeters thick and contained about 400 processed gold pages. These books have metal covers 4mm thick and are darker in color than the pages themselves. They are not sewn, but fastened in some other way. The imprudence of one of the visitors drew our attention to one more detail. He grabbed one of the metal pages, which, despite being a fraction of a millimeter thick, was strong and even. A notebook without a cover fell to the floor and, when you tried to pick it up, wrinkled like paper. Each page was engraved, so jewel-like that it looked like it was written in ink. Maybe this is an underground storage of some space library?
The pages of these volumes are divided into various squares with rounded corners. Here, perhaps, it is much easier to understand these hieroglyphs, abstract symbols, as well as stylized human figures - heads with rays, hands with three, four and five fingers. Among these symbols, one is similar to a large carved inscription found in the museum of the Church of Our Lady of Cuenca. It probably belongs to the golden objects supposedly taken from Los Tayos. It is 52 centimeters long, 14 centimeters wide and 4 centimeters deep, with 56 different characters, which could well be an alphabet... The visit to Cuenca turned out to be very important for us, because we could see the objects exhibited by Father Crespi in the Church of Our Lady, and also listen to the legends about the local white gods, fair-haired and blue-eyed, who from time to time visited this country ... Their place of residence is unknown, although it is assumed that they lived in an unknown city near Cuenca. Although the dark-skinned indigenous people believe that they bring happiness, they are afraid of their mental power, as they practice telepathy and are said to be able to levitate objects without contact. Their average height is 185 centimeters for women and 190 for men. The chairs of the Great Living Room in Los Tayos will definitely suit them.
Numerous illustrations of amazing underground finds can be seen in von Daniken's book "Gold of the Gods". When Juan Moric reported his find, a joint Anglo-Ecuadorian expedition was organized to explore the tunnels. Her honorary advisor, Neil Armstrong, said of the results:
Signs of human life underground have been found, and this may prove to be the world's major archaeological discovery of the century.
After this interview, there was no more information about the mysterious dungeons, and the area where they are located is now closed to foreigners.
Shelters for protection from the cataclysms that hit the Earth during its approach to the neutron star, as well as from all sorts of disasters that accompanied the wars of the gods, were built all over the globe. Dolmens, which are a kind of stone dugouts covered with a massive slab and with a small round hole for entry, were intended for the same purposes as underground structures, that is, they served as a refuge. These stone structures are found in different parts of the world - India, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Sicily, England, France, Belgium, Spain, Korea, Siberia, Georgia, Azerbaijan. At the same time, dolmens located in different parts of our planet are surprisingly similar to each other, as if they were made according to a standard design. According to the legends and myths of various peoples, they were built by dwarfs, as well as people, but the latter buildings turned out to be more primitive, since they used roughly processed stones.
During the construction of these structures, special layers dampening vibrations were sometimes made under the foundation, which protected the dolmens from earthquakes. For example, an ancient building located in Azerbaijan near the village of Gorikidi has two damping tiers. In the Egyptian pyramids, chambers filled with sand were also found, which served the same purpose.
The accuracy of fitting the massive stone slabs of the dolmens is also striking. Even with the help of modern technical means, it is very difficult to assemble a dolmen from ready-made blocks. Here is how A. Formozov describes an attempt to transport one of the dolmens in the book “Monuments of Primitive Art”:
In 1960, it was decided to move some dolmen from Esheri to Sukhumi - to the courtyard of the Abkhazian museum. They chose the smallest one and brought a crane to it. No matter how they fixed the loops of the steel cable to the cover plate, it did not move. A second crane was called. Two cranes removed a multi-ton monolith, but they were unable to lift it onto a truck. Exactly a year the roof lay in Esheri, waiting for a more powerful mechanism to arrive in Sukhumi. In 1961, with the help of a new mechanism, all the stones were loaded onto vehicles. But the main thing was ahead: to reassemble the house. The reconstruction has been carried out only partially. The roof was lowered onto four walls, but they could not turn it so that their edges fit into the grooves on the inner surface of the roof. In ancient times, the plates were driven so close to each other that the blade of a knife could not fit between them. Now there is a big gap.
At present, numerous ancient catacombs have been discovered in various regions of the planet, it is not known when and by whom dug. There is an assumption that these underground multi-tiered galleries were formed in the process of extracting stone for the construction of buildings. But why was it necessary to expend titanic labor, gouging out blocks of the strongest rocks in narrow underground galleries, when there are similar rocks nearby, moreover, located directly on the earth's surface?
Ancient catacombs were found near Paris, in Italy (Rome, Naples), Spain, on the islands of Sicily and Malta, in Syracuse, Germany, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Crimea. The Russian Society for Speleological Research (ROSI) has done a great job of compiling a cadastre of artificial caves and underground architectural structures on the territory of the former Soviet Union. At present, information has already been collected on 2500 catacomb-type objects belonging to different eras. The most ancient dungeons date back to the 14th millennium BC. e. (Stone grave tract in the Zaporozhye region).
The Parisian catacombs are a network of winding artificial underground galleries. Their total length is from 187 to 300 kilometers. The most ancient tunnels existed before the birth of Christ. In the Middle Ages (XII century), limestone and gypsum began to be mined in the catacombs, as a result of which the network of underground galleries was significantly expanded. Later, the dungeons were used to bury the dead. Currently, the remains of about 6 million people are buried near Paris.
The dungeons of Rome may be very ancient. Under the city and its environs, more than 40 catacombs were found, carved in porous volcanic tuff. The length of the galleries, according to the most conservative estimates, ranges from 100 to 150 kilometers, and possibly more than 500 kilometers. During the Roman Empire, dungeons were used for the burial of the dead: in the galleries of the catacombs and numerous individual burial chambers, there are from 600,000 to 800,000 burials. At the beginning of our era, churches and chapels of early Christian communities were located in the catacombs.
Around 700 catacombs have been discovered in the vicinity of Naples, consisting of tunnels, galleries, caves and secret passages. The oldest dungeons date back to 4500 BC. e. Speleologists have discovered underground water pipes, aqueducts and water tanks, rooms where food supplies were previously stored. During World War II, the catacombs were used as bomb shelters.
One of the attractions of the ancient Maltese culture is the Hypogeum, an underground catacomb-type shelter that goes several floors deep. For centuries (between 3200 and 2900 BC) it was hollowed out in hard granite rock using stone tools. Already in our time, on the lower tier of this underground city, researchers discovered the remains of 6 thousand people buried with various ritual objects.
Perhaps the mysterious underground structures were used by people as shelters from various cataclysms that have occurred on Earth more than once. The descriptions of the grandiose battles between aliens that took place in the distant past on our planet, preserved in various sources, suggest that the dungeons could serve as bomb shelters or bunkers.
Surely everyone has heard stories about people living in abandoned mines, caves or subways. Or maybe someone has read H.G. Wells' The Time Machine and then probably remembers the Morlocks. In many places on Earth, underground cities not only exist, but sometimes even thrive.
1. Underground Beijing
Mao Zedong in 1969 ordered the construction of temporary housing for the socialist government. The construction took 10 years, and as a result, a whole city stretched under Beijing with a total length of 30 kilometers. It had shops, restaurants, schools, theatres, hairdressers and even an inline skating rink. In addition to all these amenities, the city had about 1,000 bomb shelters in case of an attack.
Rumor has it that every house in the "upper" Beijing had a secret hatch so that citizens could quickly retreat to the underground complex if necessary. In 2000, the dungeons were officially opened to tourists, and some bomb shelters are now used as hotels.
2. Setenil de las Bodegas
Unlike most of the cities on our list, the Spanish city of Setenil de las Bodegas is home to 3,000 people. True, the houses in this city are built right in the rock, and not underground.
Most of the city streets are located in the open air, and tourists often come to this city to see houses, as if pressed down by rocks. Previously, the city served as Moorish fortifications, and later was used as an outpost in the fight against the Roman Empire.
3. Moose-Jo
The city is located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, where winter lasts for a very long time. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was so cold there that it was almost impossible to go outside, and tunnels were built under the city - it was warmer to get to work. Considering the time period in which the tunnels appeared, it is not surprising that they soon began to be used for illegal purposes.
Bandits and liquor dealers appeared underground - then Prohibition was adopted in Canada. And where there is illegal alcohol, there is prostitution with gambling, so soon the underground town turned into a mini Las Vegas. It is said that Al Capone himself took part in all this illegal activity.
4. City of the Gods
The Great Pyramids near the Egyptian city of Giza are still considered one of the greatest wonders of the world. But the Pyramids are not only an architectural marvel. They are also interesting because there is a whole network of tunnels and chambers under them.
Researchers are still studying the underground complex, called the City of the Gods, but it is still shrouded in mystery. True, given the scientific interest in this place, which arose back in 1978, the secrets will soon be unraveled.
5. Portland
Beneath one of the largest cities in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States lie the Shanghai Tunnels, also known as the Forbidden City. They are located under Chinatown, and were previously used to transport goods and, according to rumors, people. Because of this underground complex, Portland gained fame as the worst place on the American west coast - healthy strong men were kidnapped from the city in the last century for forced labor on sailing ships. In addition, prostitution flourished in the tunnels. True, today the situation has changed for the better, and now there is no risk when traveling through the tunnels.
6. Salt mine in Wieliczka
Located in the south of Poland, the salt mine in Wieliczka was built in the 13th century. Salt was mined here until 2007, making it one of the oldest salt mines in history. But besides this, the mine is a residential underground complex, where there are statues, chapels and even a cathedral.
The length of the mine is about 300 kilometers. During the Second World War, they were used by the Germans for the construction of ammunition. In addition, there is a large underground lake in the mine, which attracts more than a million tourists a year to this place.
7. Coober Pedy
Coober Pedy is also known as the opal capital of the world as it is a rich deposit - almost 30% of the world's opals are mined here. The city consists of houses called "dugouts" and is home to 1,600 inhabitants. Dugouts appeared as a means of combating the unbearable heat on the surface, and in addition protected the prospectors and their children from wild dingoes and Australian aborigines.
In addition to living quarters, the town boasts underground shops, pubs, and even a cemetery with a church.
8. Kish
Beneath the city of Kish in Iran lies another city so mysterious that it doesn't even have its own name. He is about 2500 years old. Initially, the underground city was used as a water management system.
Of course, like many ancient places, the city was restored not so long ago, and will soon open to tourists. Under the city, it is planned to build cinemas, restaurants and hotels with a total area of 10,000 square meters.
9. Cappadocia
The Cappadocia region of Turkey is best known for its underground city, Derinkuyu. The city consists of several levels, and is said to have several thousand inhabitants. It is a big city with its own management system, shops, churches, schools. They even make wine here.
It is believed that there are secret places in the underground structures where Christians, who did not want to feed the lions, hid from the persecution of the Roman Empire.
10 Burlington
In the countryside of Great Britain, there is a city codenamed Burlington. It was built in the 1950s to house the British government in the event of a nuclear war. The city was located in an old stone quarry with an area of 1 square kilometer and could accommodate 4,000 civil servants, however, without their families.
The town had its own railway station, hospitals, underground lakes, water purification facilities and a pub. In addition, a radio station was provided in the city, from which the prime minister could communicate his decisions to the entire small settlement. Burlington remained operational until the 1990s and was ready to receive residents until the very end of the Cold War.
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