Longyou Caves, which is the first artificial cave in the world, dates back to 2000 years ago. The cave, which is thought to have been made by human hands, is accepted as the 9th wonder of the ancient world. Considered as one of the largest underground excavations, the examinations carried out in the cave carry mysteries that will astonish the experts. The cave, which has horse, fish, bird depictions and stone carvings, has attracted great interest since the day it was opened to tourism.
The cave is located near the village of Shiyan Beicun in China’s Zhejiang province. The artificial cave, which amazes scientists, is being studied by archaeologists and architects from all over the world. How, when and by whom the ancient cave was built are among the unsolved issues.
First discovered by a villager in 1992, the cave covers an area of 30 thousand square meters. Built 30 meters underground, this cave was carved from massive siltstone. There are stone rooms, bridges, gutters and pools inside the cave. In this way, the complex of structures consisting of 24 caves forms an underground city. Proportional columns were placed to prevent the cave ceiling from collapsing, and its walls and ceilings were decorated properly. Despite the researches carried out since the discovery of the cave, no clear information about its existence has been reached.
Unsolved Issues About the Cave
The data obtained on the construction of the cave is extremely surprising, but it is admirable. In the research carried out by the scientists, it was seen that the construction of the cave was based on heavy labor. It is thought that 1000 people can build the cave by working day and night for 6 months. No tools were found during the studies carried out in the region. For this reason, which tools and tools were used during the construction of the cave are among the unsolved issues.
Despite the gigantic dimensions of the cave and all the effort spent in its construction, no trace has been found as to who or by whom it was built. There is no information in the historical records about why it was built. It is estimated that million cubic meters of rubble was removed during the construction of the cave, but there is no trace of the place where this rubble was poured. Archaeologists spent months trying to find the place where the rubble fell, but found nothing.
Caves generally consist of corridors, rooms and halls. These structures are structures designed with an incredible fine craftsmanship. Each of the rooms is decorated with chiseled parallel lines from floor to ceiling. It has not been found whether the carving process, which requires a lot of effort, was done for decoration purposes only, or that these patterns symbolize anything. The only trace of the symbols found on the walls is that they are similar to the traces on pottery found between 500 and 800 BC.
How the structural integrity of the caves was preserved for 2000 years is also among the unsolved issues. Although the wall thickness is only 50 centimeters in some parts of the cave, there is no collapse or damage. Numerous disasters have occurred in the region over the centuries, but the shapes, patterns and signs inside the cave are not affected by these disasters and preserve their characteristics as if they had just been built. When the cave is found, it is full of water. These discharged waters did not cause any damage to the structure of the cave.
Since the entrance part of the cave is very small, sunlight reaches the cave only in a certain time period, at a certain angle. It is not known exactly what kind of life was led and what was used as lighting in this cave, which is pitch dark meters below the ground. At the same time, how the symbols on the walls were carved from that darkness is one of the issues that are wondered.
All 24 caves are scattered over an area very close to each other. However, although the wall thickness between some caves is 50 centimeters, they are not connected to each other. It is not known why these nearly identical caves are not connected to each other. At the same time, it is thought that it would not be possible for ordinary people to build this huge complex of structures that require fine workmanship. It is thought that only leaders and emperors could organize the cave, which is considered as a project as big as the Great Wall of China. However, if such a great empire existed, it is not known why there is no record of it in history.
The design of the Longyou Caves is delicate and scientific, and the scale is magnificent. According to Yang Hongxun, an expert at the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, “It was not possible for the builders in one cave to see what the builders in the other cave were doing. If the inside of each cave were not built parallel to the other, the walls would be pierced. Therefore, the measuring device they used must have been very advanced. The places and the distances between them were in an incredible order.” When it is thought that different workers work in each room and do not see each other, it is not clear how they achieved the similarity and sensitivity between the caves and what methods they used.
Extensive research and examinations have been made by scientists about the caves. Many theories have been put forward, but none have been proven. There is no clear explanation as to who, why it was built and why the cave was used. It is not known what the meanings of the depictions in it are.
