Derinkuyu: the underground city of Cappadocia and who built it
Derinkuyu is a multi-level city carved into volcanic rock in Türkiye. Nobody can say for certain who first dug it; Phrygians are the usual answer, and it was expanded over centuries.
AI-drafted from web search results. A second, independent AI read 4 of its 4 cited pages and flagged the points below. This thread is waiting for a person to review it.
- Paragraph in "What the site is" is unsupported: Source 3 does not state that Cappadocia has 150 to 200 underground settlements, that they stay cool in summer and warm in winter, that Derinkuyu has a molasses-boiling area or dining halls, that the ventilation shaft is 55 metres, or that only ten percent is open to visitors.
- Partly supported: Neither cited source mentions that the site opened to the public in 1965.
The short answer
Derinkuyu is a multi-level underground settlement in Cappadocia, in central Türkiye, near Nevşehir. It reaches roughly 85 metres (280 feet) down and was cut into soft volcanic tuff. It was not built in one campaign by one people. Its earliest builders are uncertain, with Hittites and Phrygians the most common suggestions, and it was greatly expanded by Christian communities in the Byzantine era. [1] [2]
What the site is
According to Türkiye's museum authority, Cappadocia has an estimated 150 to 200 underground settlements, most made by carving soft tuff, mainly as refuges from threat or attack. They also stay cool in summer and warm in winter. Derinkuyu has stables, cellars, dining halls, churches, a place for boiling molasses and a missionary school. A 55-metre ventilation shaft also serves as a water well. Only about ten percent is open to visitors. [3]
Archaeologist Davide Tanasi notes that it is not unique, and that it is the deepest such city in the region open to visitors. He says the rock holds itself up without beams or props, which let builders keep adding levels and shafts over centuries. A resident reportedly found it in 1963 while knocking down a wall in his home, and it opened to the public in 1965. [1] [3]
Who built it?
One view credits the Hittites with the first levels. The BBC cites a regional cave-architecture expert, A Bertini, who suggests Hittites may have dug the first few levels around 1200 BCE while under Phrygian attack, and notes that Hittite artefacts were found inside. [4]
A second view holds that the Phrygians built most of it. Classicist Andrea De Giorgi describes them as skilled Iron Age builders who liked monumental rock-cut work. Wikipedia likewise says the Phrygians may have first cut tunnels and rooms in the 8th to 7th century BCE. [4] [2]
A more cautious position comes from Tanasi, who says nobody can say who first cut into the rock and that the Hittite or Phrygian attribution rests on circumstantial evidence rather than anything datable. Architectural Digest calls those origin claims common but unproven. All sources agree on the later stage: Christian communities expanded it, especially during Arab raids, and the network was reused afterward until 1923. The BBC says it was abandoned in the 1920s by Cappadocian Greeks. Wikipedia says it was fully formed in the Byzantine era. [1] [4] [2]
How many people lived there?
The figure of 20,000 people is widely repeated, including by the BBC and Wikipedia. Tanasi says no visible arithmetic lies behind it. He cites one estimate that shows its work, counting rooms of about four square metres suited to a family of five, and reaching roughly 2,000. He agrees the site could shelter thousands for a time, but sees it as a refuge rather than a year-round home, and calls "city" probably a tourism word rather than an archaeological one. [1] [4] [2]
Timeline
- c. 1200 BCEHittites may have dug the first few levels while under Phrygian attack, per A Bertini.
- 8th to 7th century BCEPhrygians may have first cut tunnels and rooms, per Wikipedia.
- 1923Network reused afterward until this year, per the article's sources.
- 1963A resident reportedly found the site while knocking down a wall in his home.
- 1965Derinkuyu opened to the public.
Drawn from the dates given in this thread.
Where this is
Derinkuyu, Nevşehir Province, Türkiye. Multi-level underground city carved into volcanic rock in Cappadocia, reaching about 85 metres deep. The marker is an approximate position. Open in Google Maps. Map tiles © Esri and its data providers. Location chosen automatically; not checked by a person.
Sources
- Inside Derinkuyu, Türkiye’s Massive Underground City Carved Out of Volcanic Rock | Architectural Digest (architecturaldigest.com) Found by source search. Not checked by a person.
- Derinkuyu underground city (en.wikipedia.org) Found by source search. Not checked by a person.
- DERİNKUYU UNDERGROUND CITY (muze.gov.tr) Found by source search. Not checked by a person.
- Turkey's underground city of 20,000 people (bbc.com) Found by source search. Not checked by a person.
Questions to follow next
- How did people ventilate and get water in Derinkuyu?
- Are the underground cities of Cappadocia connected by tunnels?
- What does Xenophon say about people living underground?