Located in the Chinese province of Zhejiang, the Longyou caves are one of the mysteries that archaeologists unveil. This artificial deposit of more than 30,000 square meters was discovered thanks to the curiosity of the inhabitants of the area.
To know the history of the discovery of the Longyou caves, we must go back to 1992. Wu Anai, a resident of Shiyan Beicun village, decided to raise money together with other neighbors to discover how deep the pond was where they used to bathe or go fishing.
With the help of a powerful extractor pump, the neighbors worked for days in that mirror of water. Thus, after three weeks of drainage, it was discovered that what they called a pond was actually a cave.
Also known as the Xiaonanhai stone chambers, researchers have concluded that, far from being a natural site, it is an artificial work. But there was no shortage of those who distanced themselves from the official version and linked them to extraterrestrial civilizations.
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The total area measures 30,000 square meters, with a maximum height of 30 meters. To build the entire complex it would have been necessary to extract almost 1,000,000 cubic meters of rock.
Beyond any scientific calculation based on the size of the Longyou caves, there are no details about the time or labor used in the construction: it is estimated that they would have been built around 2000 years ago.
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Jia Gang, a Tongji University professor specializing in civil engineering, was puzzled when he saw the caves. The expert added another question to the dilemma and raised the need for an essential element for the construction of the underground complex:
“There should be lamps, because the mouth of the cave is very small and sunlight can only enter the cave at a certain angle, for a certain period of time. As one progresses into the cave, the light becomes dimmer. At the bottom of the cave, a dozen meters from the mouth, you could barely see, ”he estimated.
In 2017, a multidisciplinary expert from the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences argued that the entire construction must have been planned.
The expert, Yang Hongxun, said “at the bottom of each cave, the builders would not be able to see what the others were doing in the next cave. But the interior of each cave had to be parallel to the other, otherwise the wall would be perforated. Therefore, the measuring apparatus had to be very advanced. Beforehand, there must have been some design about the sizes, locations, and distances between the caves.”
The low attendance at the Longyou caves has still been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic. However, whoever wishes can visit this magnificent and mysterious underground architectural work for less than 10 dollars.
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Source: lanacion.com.ar