The Longyou Caves and their mystery that scientists have been unable to solve (10 photos + 1 video)

In 1992, a resident of the Chinese village of Shiyan Beicun in Longyou County, a man named Wu Annai, possessed by a strange premonition, decided to pump out the water from a pond. Local belief held that the pond had no bottom, but Annai was certain it was man-made. He convinced his neighbors, and together they bought a pump and set to work.





After 17 days of continuous pumping, the water receded, revealing the flooded entrance to an ancient man-made cave. The man's intuition had been right.



This grotto, now known as the Longyou Caves, turned out to be part of one of the most grandiose underground structures of antiquity. A total of 24 hand-dug caves were discovered here.





Each cave averages approximately 1,000 square meters, with vaults soaring 30 meters into the air. The total volume of the work exceeds 30,000 square meters.



We know this is not a natural creation because of the walls. They are covered with clear chisel marks. The ancient craftsmen struck the stone so skillfully that they left a uniform pattern of parallel grooves on the stone, perhaps imbuing it with special meaning.



Similar patterns are found on pottery housed in the local museum, dating to between 500 and 800 BC. Stairs, columns, and carefully carved figures can also be seen here.



The caves are estimated to have been carved out over 2,000 years ago, around 200 BC. Approximately one million cubic meters of rock were excavated from the bedrock to create them. It would seem that such a large-scale project could not have gone unnoticed: the ancient Chinese were renowned for their meticulous record-keeping.



However, there is not a single mention of Longyou in either historical chronicles or travelogues. This fact baffles researchers.



However, it cannot be ruled out that the builders were simply expanding existing natural cavities. This would explain a lot, including the working methods and the fate of the extracted rock.



But even so, we have before us a monumental work that will forever remain one of the unsolved mysteries of antiquity.