A Man Knocked Down His Basement Wall, Discovering Ancient Underground City That Housed 20,000 People (Video & Pictures)

Imagine knocking down a wall in your home as part of renovations, only to find a tunnel to a secret underground city behind it? Though this sounds like the plot from a fantasy movie, it actually happened to one guy in Turkey, in 1963. The man, from Cappadocia in the Nevsehir province of Turkey got the shock of his life when he discovered the tunnel, which led to the ancient underground city of Derinkuyu. Read on to discover more about this incredible find.

Researchers believe Derinkuyu was originally used as a storage space before it became a bunker to hide from invaders. The doors connecting each level were blocked by half-ton boulders only moveable from the inside that contained a small hole that allowed residents to spear the confined trespassers. The city was likely originally used to store goods but was then used as a bunker to escape from foreign invaders — the dimly lit hallways were intentionally built narrow and low so intruders would be forced to stoop and enter in single file.