Unlike other underground shelters discovered so far, which proved to be only temporary housing or goods-transportation tunnels, the underground city in Cappadocia served as a permanent home for its dwellers.

The discovery is the first of its kind and it may reveal exotic new information regarding the people who once lived inside. After the first tests with carbon dating, researchers have come to the conclusion that the mysterious city stretches back to before the Hittites, an ancient race who raised an empire in this area around 1600 BC.

Hasan Ünver, the mayor of Nevşehir said in a statement that the new finding will undeniably rewrite the known history of the Anatolia region in Turkey:

When the works are finalized, the history of Cappadocia will be rewritten. We have reached significant discoveries; new long tunnels and spaces where people lived all together. Places where linseed oil was produced, chapels and tunnels combining various living spaces in the underground city were found.

The underground city was discovered by Turkish construction workers during an urban development project. The massive subterranean city was unearthed when construction workers began digging the area in order to level the terrain for new buildings.

At first, archaeologists believed the city to be like Drinkuyu, another underground complex discovered in the area which served as a temporary shelter during raids. Özcan Çakır, an associate professor at the geophysics engineering department of the 18 March University initially believed that the broad tunnels were used as agricultural “highways” which offered people the possibility to carry food from once place to another, thus avoiding any dangers from the surface.

After further investigations, the team of researchers discovered a huge tunnel that passes below Nevşehir and reaches a faraway water source, proving that the underground city was indeed a complex and permanent settlement. Among other items, archaeologists discovered pipe-like objects made from meerschaum that were used to smoke tobacco and probably cannabis and opium.

Excited by the unique discovery, Ünver declared that:

This is a real underground city where they resided permanently and not like other underground cities where they lived temporarily. We are definite that we will also reach very important information and discoveries regarding world history.

According to statements from city officials of Nevşehir, the opening of the first part of the underground city excavations will open in 2017. The project was coordinated by archaeologist Semih Istanbulluoglu and the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Ashish Kothar, a UNESCO representative already inspected the ancient underground settlement and managed to photograph interesting artifacts from within, however, the inside images were not released to the public except for a few shots.

Whatever ancient civilization dwelled inside these huge underground city we are yet to find out, but the surprisingly fact that humans once lived underground (permanently) sure raises a lot of question marks. Were they forced to live like this as a result of a merciless cataclysm? Was there a nuclear war in the distant past? Will archaeologists discover a new ancient civilization? Or maybe evidence of the legendary reptilian race depicted by the Sumerians?

Source: UFOholic