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Featured Sites |
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Related Pages. |
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Links to
related sites
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If you know of any other
interesting
underground sites...
...please Contact-Us with
references.
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Underground Constructions:
(Form and function).
There are several known examples of ancient underground complexes ...
...and a
great many more rumoured to exist.
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Featured Underground Sites:
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Apart from the obvious benefits
of protection, underground sites served as symbolic entrances to the underworld,
as demonstrated by the 'sybill's' of ancient Greece, who invariably
frequented natural openings in the ground for their
oracle
centres. The Greeks used to place 'Omphalus'
over smaller 'entrances to the underworld'. The same traditions exist
throughout megalithic Europe and around the ancient world.
Scroll down for more
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The 'Lost Labyrinth' of
Hawara, Egypt.
It was recently
announced that the lost labyrinth of Egypt at Hawara has been
re-discovered by an expedition funded by
NRIAG,
Ghent University/Kunst-Zicht
& Louis De
Cordier, with the cooperation of the
Supreme Council of Antiquities, Horus Foundation &
Isel Foundation.
This colossal temple was
described in the past by authors such as Herodotus and Strabo, and
was said to contain 3,000 rooms full of hieroglyphs and paintings.
When Petrie first discovered the great artificial stone surface
(304m by 244m) in 1889, at the depth of several meters, he
interpreted it as the foundation of the labyrinth. New
evidence suggests that the stone plateau may in fact be the
roof of the great complex.
(Click
here for more about this exiting new discovery)
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 The
Hypogeum, Malta.
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This underground spectacular takes one straight
to the heart of the prehistoric psyche. It includes features such as carved
trilithons,
spirals,
'speaking' chambers, and the possible use of 'Ergot'. These fantastic chambers reek of
ritual and mystery.
The Hypogeum is orientated so that the 'holy
of holies' inside faces the equinoxial sun. Such a feature, combined with the
discovery of several thousand skulls, makes it extremely likely that the site
was used as a connection to the afterlife.
(More
about the Hypogeum)
A second hypogeum (The
Hypogeum II), has now been discovered on Gozo (next to Malta), it is
directly under and in the centre of the prominent
Xaghra stone circle.
(Return to Top)
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The
Osireion (Strabo's Well), Abydoss, Egypt.
This fantastic underground structure dates back to the earliest roots of dynastic Egypt. The stark,
unadorned masonry
can only be seen in one other place in Egypt; The 'Valley-temple' beside
the Sphinx at
Ghiza.
It is noticeable that while the
Osirion at Abydoss is connected to Osiris through myth (being the resting place
of his 'Phallus', which was swallowed by cat-fish...), the Valley-temple
at Ghiza on the other hand, is associated with Isis through the 'Inventory
stele', found inside the temple, which says of Khufu...
He found the house of
Isis, Mistress of the Pyramid, by the side of the hollow of Hwran (The
Sphinx)
The water of the
Osireion is connected to the Nile, meaning that it creates a 'moat' around
the central 'island' when the waters are down. The rock is cut deep into the
waters so that the bottom is not visible in places.
(More
about the Osireion)
(Return to Top)
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Derinkuru complex,
Turkey.
- This underground city is one
of five in the area that connect together, making an underground complex with the
potential for 100,000 people. The 'city' has apartments, running water,
air-conditioning, and large doors roll across the entrances, locking from the
inside, presumably protecting the inhabitants from...???
These unique underground cities
are currently being excavated and access is restricted. We would welcome any
eye-witness or photographs of this site...
(More
about Derinkuyu)
(Return to Top)
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Chavin du Huntaar, Peru.
- This ancient site (dated at 800 BC), includes a network
of underground tunnels at the heart of which sits this monolith, called El-Toro ('The
Bull'). The fully decorated stone stands at 4.5m high and the top protrudes through the
ceiling and into the room above.
This classic 'Chavin' site also includes
other great feats of masonry, including cyclopean masonry (a 30 ft long lintel) and
several similarly carved standing stones.
(Click
here for more)
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Other Underground sites.
Location - Cuenca,
Equador. - Vast tunnel network. (17).
Location –
Columbia. San Augustine.
- Underground sanctuaries with connecting
passages. (18).
Location
– Mexico. Cholula. - Underground Temple
with connecting passages. (18).
Location – Peruvian
Andes, Huascaran, 22,203 ft high, near the village of Otuzco.
Cave entrances closed with slabs of rock. First recorded by Francis Pizzaro
(1478-1541). An expedition was organised in 1971, an account of which was
given in the periodical ‘Bild der Wissenschaft’.
“Vast tunnels which would leave even modern underground constructors green
with envy began behind six ‘doors’. These tunnels lead straight towards the
coast, at times with a slope of 14 per cent. The floor is covered with stone
slabs that have been pitted and grooved to make them slip-proof. It is an
adventure even today to penetrate these 55 to 65 mile-long transport tunnels
in the direction of the coast and finally reach a spot 80 ft below sea
level. The great ocean lurks at the end of the underground passage of ‘Guanape’,
so called after the island that lies off the coast of Peru here, because it
is assumed that the passages once led under the sea to the island. After the
passages have gone uphill and downhill several times, and after a downhill
slope, they end in ocean water". (18).
(More about ancient peru)
Location
- India. Kanheri, near the Malabar coast.
The ‘Rock Temples’, consisting of 48 ft high caves, blasted from granite
they run several stories deep. The ceilings are supported by granite
pillars, carved from the rock. Decorated in relief. (18).
(Return to Top)
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