Turkish archaeologists who excavated in the area where the city of Aladzha-Huyuke, the capital of the Hittite kingdom, was once located, unexpectedly discovered a secret underground passage, writes Ouest France.
The archaeological expedition, during which the ancient tunnel was found, was organized by a group of scientists led by Aykut Cinaroglu, professor of archeology at Ankara University. Researchers who were interested in one of the ancient sanctuaries of the Hittite kingdom, during its detailed study, found a secret passage, created approximately 2300 years ago.
“Such tunnels, of course, are known to science and are called posterns. This particular find is of very high importance from the point of view of the study of Hittite architecture. I have been engaged in archaeological excavations for 55 years, but I could not even dream of discovering such a postern,”says Professor Chinaroglu.
The city of Aladzha-Huyuke, in the temple on the territory of which the tunnel was found, was the religious center of the Hittites, a people mentioned many times in the Bible and other sacred texts. The Hittites, as modern researchers suggest, were the first Indo-European nation to be forced to move from the Balkan Peninsula to Asia Minor.
Kolesnikov Andrey