Inside Orvieto's Underground Maze 1,200 Tunnels Carved Into Volcanic Rock

Описание: In the late 1970s, a landslide exposed mysterious openings in Orvieto's cliff face. What speleologists found inside changed everything we knew about this Italian city: over 1,200 caves, tunnels, wells, and chambers carved across 2,500 years—and almost nobody remembered they existed.
Orvieto sits on a volcanic plateau 150 meters above the valley floor. When the Etruscans settled here in the 9th century BC, they faced a critical problem: no water source on top of the plateau. Their solution? Dig straight down through 130 feet of volcanic rock, carving wells with engineered handholds. This started a 2,500-year excavation project that created an entire underground city.
TimeStamps:
00:00 - 00:53 THE ENGINEERING MARVEL
00:53 - 03:08 WHAT'S ACTUALLY DOWN THERE
03:08 - 05:47 THE FORGOTTEN LABYRINTH
05:47 - 08:00 WHAT THIS TELLS US ABOUT ANCIENT ENGINEERING

COMPILED SOURCE LIST:
PRIMARY SOURCES:
Atlas Obscura (Orvieto Underground): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/o...
Wikipedia (Orvieto): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orvieto
Orvieto Underground Official Site: https://www.orvietounderground.it/ind...
Orvieto Underground Discovery Documentation: http://www.orvietounderground.it/inde...
Geological Studies: http://www.orvietounderground.it/inde...
ResearchGate (Rock of Orvieto Study): https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...
HISTORICAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES:
Orvieto History: https://www.orvietoviva.com/en/orviet...
Road Scholar (Etruscan Caves): https://www.roadscholar.org/blog/disc...
Chambers Architects Underground Guide: https://chambersarchitects.com/blog/u...
UNESCO World Heritage (Orvieto): https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativeli...
Live Orvieto: https://liveorvieto.com/en/blog/monum...
TRAVEL & DOCUMENTATION:
Lonely Planet: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/um...
Summer in Italy: https://www.summerinitaly.com/guide/o...
Brigolante Blog: http://www.brigolante.com/blog/2014/0...
Kelownagurl Adventures: https://kelownagurl.wordpress.com/201...
Earthly Mission: https://earthlymission.com/orvieto-un...
Audiala: https://audiala.com/en/italy/orvieto/...
Il Viaggio: https://ilviaggio.com/?p=16
Borgo Giorgione: https://www.borgogiorgione.com/en/blo...

#Orvieto #UndergroundCity #EtruscanCivilization #AncientEngineering