'Biologically, physiologically, our bodies are just not designed for life underground.'
From ancient catacombs to modern subways, humans have always traveled underground for brief amounts of time. But have entire societies of people ever lived underground?
"The thing that is important to know about the underground is that we do not belong there. Biologically, physiologically, our bodies are just not designed for life underground," said Will Hunt, author of the book"Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet " ."And yet there are moments when we have retreated underground."People throughout history have temporarily lived below the surface for various reasons.
One of the largest underground cities in Cappadocia is Derinkuyu, which dates to around the seventh or eighth centuries and could have housed about 20,000 people, according to Atlas Obscura. Geophysicists have found that another recently discovered city in the region spans 5 million square feet and may be 371 feet deep, according to National Geographic . If true, this would make the recently found Cappadocia city about a third larger than Derinkuyu.
Not all subterranean dwellings were as complex as those in Cappadocia, however. People also lived in natural and human-made caves, Hunt noted. Constructed caverns can be found anywhere with the right kind of geology — for example, stone hills made from tuff, a soft volcanic rock that's easy to dig into."They're very common," he said."You find people making cave dwellings all over the world.
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