You've probably heard the theory that under our feet there are a huge number of underground tunnels covering the entire planet.
I don't know how about the entire planet, but there are a huge number of such tunnels on the territory of Europe - hundreds, if not thousands. Who built them and when remains a mystery. But the most interesting thing is that these tunnels are very small.
Most of them are only slightly more than one meter high and about 60 centimeters wide. Sometimes there are such tunnels that let an adult through them, so he will get stuck. Archaeologists believe that most of these tunnels could have been built during the Middle Ages.
According to one version, the tunnels could have been dug by religious fanatics. But we will hardly ever know the truth - a lot of time has passed since that moment.
But there is another version, according to which the tunnels were made much earlier - at least in the Stone Age (this is about five thousand years ago).
A similar version was adhered to by the famous German archaeologist Heinrich Kushcha, and that's why - next to such tunnels, sites of ancient people are often found. Some researchers cite much more shocking numbers - the tunnels may be more than 12 thousand years old.
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More than seven hundred such tunnels have already been found in Bavaria alone. In Austria, the number of tunnels discovered is approaching 500.
Maybe the legends of the local peoples can tell something about these mysterious communications? Indeed, people like these tunnels have very strange names, here are just a few of them:
1) "Schrazelloch" ("hole of the goblins")
2) "Alraunenhöhle" ("mandrake cave")
Some researchers believe that such tunnels stretch over great distances and in the past connected many castles.
The only question is - were they built after the construction of the castles or before them? And what kind of build were the people who moved along them? As for the purpose of the tunnels, there are two more interesting versions:
1) Similar tunnels were built to protect against predators
2) With the help of these tunnels, it was possible to safely get to any settlement, bypassing all places of war and conflict
As for the first version, I have a question - they did not live in Africa, there is no safari with a huge number of lions, crocodiles, etc. Therefore, this version of protection from predators seems dubious to me.
As for the second option, the strange thing is that the tunnels are very small, it is really easy for a modern person to get stuck in them. Traveling through such tunnels, you feel like some kind of hobbit or goblin.
But after all, we were taught from childhood that such creatures never existed in reality. But what is interesting is that you can see interesting drawings in some caves. For example, in the tunnels near the city of Lindau, located on Lake Constance, you can see a drawing of a creature with a tail, very similar to a goblin.
Some researchers believe that such tunnels were dug long before humanity began to create the first states. And people just used such a ready-made solution.
But who built these tunnels is unclear.
As for the attitude of religion towards them, in some medieval religious sources there is information that these tunnels lead to the underworld.
Looking at all this, you really start to believe in gnomes and goblins.
