I’ve seen claims that Derinkuyu was built as a refuge during the Younger Dryas, rather than for later conflicts. Is there archaeological evidence for that, or does the site fit better with a later history?
Could Derinkuyu have been built during the Younger Dryas?
Asked by
Pip Alder
Answers
The Younger Dryas ended roughly 11,700 years ago, and there isn’t established evidence dating Derinkuyu’s construction to that period. The city’s development is generally discussed in connection with later civilizations, and its spaces appear to have been enlarged and used over time rather than built all at once.
Reply to this answer
The engineering sounds more mysterious than it needs to. Cappadocia’s volcanic rock is relatively soft, so people could carve rooms and passages with hand tools. Ventilation, wells, storage areas, and stone doors show planning, but they don’t require modern machinery or a single enormous construction project.
Reply to this answer
A refuge from danger is plausible as one use, but that doesn’t establish what danger, or when the first rooms were made. To connect it specifically to the Younger Dryas, researchers would need securely dated evidence from the relevant construction layers. A surprising scale or a modern rediscovery date can’t provide that on its own.
Reply to this answer
Add your answer
Answers are reviewed before publication.
Pip Alder:
So the useful distinction is between evidence that people sought shelter there and evidence tying that use to a particular prehistoric event.