Forgotten Prehistoric Subterranean City Discovered In Turkey’s Trabzon Province

A subterranean municipality from 4 millennia ago has been found in Turkey, apparently belonged to the Byzantines. Turkish archaeologists uncovered the forgotten city during urban transformation process in the country’s northern province of Trabzon.

Discovery of Subterranean Byzantine City Discontinues Project in Turkey

Important cultural legacy has been left by the Byzantine Empire, both on the Greek Orthodox Church and on the resurrection of Greco-Roman classical researches that inspired the Renaissance. The Empire endured through the downfall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5^th century AD until its defeat by the Ottomans in 1453.
The remarkable legacy of the Byzantines persists in almost all the regions in once reigned, which is proved by the latest discovery of a 4,000-year-old subterranean municipality in Turkey. Thought be from the Komnenian Dynasty, the subterranean municipality was found in a tunnel in Ortahisar district by construction workers, whose transformation project was called off shortly after in order to preserve the findings.

The Komnenian Dynasty

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The era from 1081 to 1185 is named the Komnenian period after the Komnenos Dynasty. Its 5 Emperors’ reign lasted for nearly 100 years, presiding over a sustained restoration of the military, territorial, economic and political position of the Byzantine Empire.
The family stemmed from the Greek village of Komne in Thrace, rapidly becoming associated with the powerful and prestigious military aristocracy of Anatolia thanks to the first known member of the family, Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, acquiring extensive states at Kastamon in Paphlagonia, which became the stronghold of the family in the 11th century.
Byzantium, under the Komnenoi played an important part in the history of the Crusades in the Holy Land, while also extensively affected culture and politics in Europe, the Near East, and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. Komnenian emperors exerted significant impact over certain Crusader states, and even played a significant part in the course of the First Crusade.

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Furthermore, it was during the Komnenian era that contact between Byzantium and the “Latin” Christian West, including the Crusader states, was at its most crucial stage. Venetian and other Italian traders became resident in Constantinople and the empire in large numbers (60–80,000 “Latins” in Constantinople alone).
And their presence together with the several Latin mercenaries employed by Manuel specifically aided to spread Byzantine technology, art, literature and culture throughout the Roman Catholic west. Above all, the cultural impact of Byzantine art on the west in this period was great and of long lasting importance.

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The Komnenoi also remarkably contributed to the history of Asia Minor. By reconquering much of the region, the Komnenoi delayed the expansion of the Turks in Anatolia by more than 200 years. In the process, they set the basis of the Byzantine successor states of Nicaea, Epirus and Trebizond. Meanwhile, their immense project of fortifications has left an enduring mark upon the Anatolian landscape, which can still be appreciated today.

Underground City Will Become a Tourist Attraction

Trabzon was indicated to be chronologically famous as the “city of tunnels” by the Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Ali Ayvazoğlu in 2018. The Director also said that the subterranean municipality is anticipated to be excavated and become a tourist destination in the next few years.

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Moreover, he revealed that an additional discovery has been made in the nearby region, depicting the glorious Greek past and presence in current Turkey, which is a Greek Orthodox Chapel only approachable through a secret passage. Restoration workers at the Sümela Monastery in Trabzon found the chapel, which was quickly revealed and opened for tourists.
The newly found chapel has separated murals illustrating the “heaven and hell, and death and life,” said Ayvazoğlu, who confirmed that some very nice surprises are awaiting the visitors and tourists after all renovation work is complete.

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“Visitors will have the opportunity to see places they were previously unable to visit,” Ayvazoğlu stated, adding that with the use of modern technology local authorities will do their best during restoration in order to avoid mistakes of the past when archaeological jewels of Greek and Christian origin were severely damaged.