In the center of Chisinau, builders discovered an underground tunnel. He was noticed while working to strengthen the foundations of the building of the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts. Now the galleries are being investigated by historians and archaeologists, according to the correspondent of MIR 24 Ksenia Yanieva.
About thirty meters high, one and a half meters wide. You cannot walk through an underground tunnel, except perhaps bending over in half. According to preliminary estimates of archaeologists, these galleries are over 100 years old.
The underground tunnel is built of bricks and limestone blocks. In some places, traces of plaster and lime have even been preserved. The passages stretch for more than 20 meters. So far, this is only the part that archaeologists have managed to find. It is possible that they are much longer.
Archaeologists work without straightening their backs, cleaning masonry, taking out construction waste. What was here - plumbing, ventilation or heating system - there are many versions. The tunnels are carefully studied by historians.
“We managed to find a brick with an engraving of the then-famous Purchel trademark. It was a famous factory in Bessarabia, and it was owned by a boyar named Purchel,”says archaeologist Sergei Musyatse.
The tunnels were discovered under the Academy of Arts. This is an architectural monument of national importance. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a boys' gymnasium here. And in 1917 the legislative branch of the Moldavian Republic Sfatul Tarii sat.
“The administration of the Academy of Arts did not even suspect the existence of this tunnel. It was closed, blocked after the Second World War, during the reconstruction of the building. One thing is clear, the tunnel was built together with the main buildings,”says architect Sergiu Ciocan.
The exact date will help determine the design plans of the building. For them, specialists will turn to the archives of St. Petersburg. There, during the time of tsarist Russia, the authorities of Bessarabia transferred all reports on urban planning.
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“From year to year, Chisinau presents us with surprises. The city literally stands on underground galleries, basements, tunnels. But, unfortunately, most of them have not been studied, are not included in the cultural heritage. We hope this study will open the door to the development of a new direction - underground architecture,”says Doctor of Historical Sciences, archaeologist Ion Tentyuk.
The excavations are carried out within the framework of the "Underground Chisinau" project. The program was launched by the Association of Young Historians.
Each underground find gives rise to many rumors and guesses among the residents of Chisinau about a secret city that was built under the capital thousands of years ago. The study of the mysterious tunnel will cost the capital $ 50,000.
Ksenia Yanieva