#7 Teotihuacan Tunnels Lying dormant for a possible 1800 years,
it was nature that first revealed more secrets about the Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan,
standing not far from Mexico City. Although inhabited later by the Mayans, these
colossal pyramids were constructed by the Toltec civilization, a pre-Colombian (pre-colonization)
Mesoamerican culture. At its largest, it was home to an estimated 200,000 people!
More recently, in 2003, days of driving rainstorms revealed a 3-foot sinkhole near
one of the largest pyramids, the Temple of the Plumed Serpent. A structure with a dark past;
in the 1980s it was discovered that there were more than 100 bodies buried beneath the temple,
victims of ritual human sacrifice. Their hands were bound behind their backs when discovered.
Mexican archaeologist Sergio Gomez Chavez was curious about the newly appeared sinkhole. He
shone a torch into the hole but saw nothing but darkness. Next, with the help of some colleagues,
he lowered himself down on a rope and found himself inside a perfectly cylindrical
secret tunnel. These walls would later be found to contain crushed pyrite -- or
fool’s gold -- giving a beautiful illumination effect as if one was standing under the stars.
This was all very exciting for the team working at Teotihuacan pyramids, but it had to be kept secret
from the prying eyes of the public. They sent a robot with a camera to further explore past the
rubble, and Chavez remembers an almost unbearable stink coming through the gaps. The robot followed
the tunnel for the length of a football field before discovering 3 chambers that even Dr.
Indiana Jones would be jealous of. 4 greenstone statues adorned in beads. Another cleared tunnel
found evidence of worship to the storm god, easily distinguishable by his google-like eyes and fangs
with drops of blood. The storm god was the keeper of the underworld's sacred waters. High watermarks
in this newly discovered chamber prove that it was intentionally flooded at one point. Since
the hidden passage was discovered, an estimated 50,000 items have been found below the temple.
Should you find yourself lucky enough to visit the Teotihuacan pyramids and
want to find the Temple of the Plumed Serpent, it’s quite easy to find.
Just follow the Avenue of the Dead and you can’t miss it!
#6 Cu Chi Tunnels These tunnels are located on
the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They date back to the 1940s when communist
forces began to fight the French colonialism in what was then Saigon. The first tunnels were
shorter and often dug by hand, but as the war grew, so did the secret network of tunnels.
By the time the '60s had arrived, the revolution against the French had turned into a bloody civil
war. South Vietnam was pitted against the north. The southern-based Viet Cong used these tunnels to
hide from American lead bombings while working, resting, and planning counter-attacks in them.
They were disease-ridden, and malaria was the second largest killer here behind battle wounds.
The Cu Chi tunnel network was so effective in keeping the VC in the war that the USA made its
destruction a top priority. They had become hugely advantageous as they allowed the Viet
Cong the advantage of choosing the battleground. On the rare occasion that the hidden entrances
were found, searches of the locations were ineffective. In part due to fear of running into
hiding enemy soldiers, but also, as by now, there were over 150 miles of tunnels for the VC to use.
Within those 150 miles were thousands of booby-traps that were armed and ready to kill
or maim anyone unlucky enough to set them off. The tunnels far outlasted the Americans,
who took the last chopper out of Saigon in 1975. Now they last as tourist attractions, rebuilt
in some cases, and feature a gun range, offering excited holidaymakers the chance to play GI Joe.
#5 The Statue of Liberty Perhaps you’ve already been to the big apple, and
perhaps you’ve already seen The Statue of Liberty, but you definitely haven’t seen as much of her as
you used to be able to. The copper statue was originally a gift from France in 1886; 30 years
on it was that same relationship with France that was the catalyst for Lady Liberty to be damaged,
along with the secret passage that she contained. Now patrons from around the world can only climb
as high as her crown, that passageway remaining hidden.The statue was damaged during World War I,
prior to America joining the fight, who was still, however, selling munitions to Britain and the
French. This upset some people in Germany greatly. So, some of these greatly upset Germans sent a
team of spies over the Atlantic. Landing in New York in 1916, the saboteurs managed to blow up a
pier, killing several and injuring hundreds more, one of those being the 150-foot-tall green woman
herself. Prior to the bombing visitors could take the 40-foot-high ladder inside the arm. And people
did. The explosion peppered the raised arm, and it was so badly damaged it had to be closed off.
Eventually repaired some 70 years later, the passageway remains hidden away under lock and key.
#4 Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman. Not content with just being a drug lord,
El Chapo may also be the king of secret tunnels. The majority of his tunnels were built with
one express purpose: delivery. As the alleged leader of the Sinaloa cartel, he was responsible
for the smuggling of over 170 tons of cocaine through the sophisticated tunnel network from
Mexico to several US states. As well as heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana... He was the first
cartel leader to dig tunnels for drug smuggling. The tunnels are well constructed and cost millions
to build. They feature electrical and ventilation systems, transportation, and secret entrances that
look like something from a James Bond movie. In February of 2014, the Mexican marines raided his
home and safe house in Sinaloa, however, Guzman was not there. That’s because moments before he
escaped through a secret tunnel, built under his bathtub! He fled through the sewer system
and appeared to have bested the authorities. They caught up with him 125 miles later, after a few
days on the run, and took him to Altiplano maximum-security prison near Mexico City.
By July 2015, he was back on the lam, having once more used a secret tunnel to gain his freedom.
El Chapo appears to have vanished into thin air on the since-released CCTV footage. He, in fact,
dropped down a 2-foot square hole dug precisely beneath his cell shower. The excavation led
nearly a mile to a previously empty plot of land on which now stood a small half-built farmhouse.
It's alleged Guzman’s sons bought the land to dig their father to freedom.
Inside the tunnel, investigators found a motorbike on tracks, with which El Chapo
had used in his less than 10-minute getaway. All he had to do to gain his freedom again was climb
the 25-foot-high ladder found at the end of the tunnel. Experts believe he must have had a
GPS device somewhere in the cell for the tunnel to have been dug to such a degree of accuracy.
Less than a year later he was tracked down in Los Mochis, and amid a bloody battle,
he turned to an old friend for help one last time. This time he’d had a secret tunnel constructed
behind his mirror. This got him as far as the sewers, but he was captured hours later
crawling out of a manhole. He was extradited to the USA shortly after to ensure he wasn’t able
to burrow his way out of trouble again. El Chapo is currently serving life in prison plus 30 years.
#3 Project Riese Riese in German means
“giant” – and this Nazi’s plan to build secret underground bases were certainly of
epic proportion: he wanted to build 7 hidden lairs in the Owl Mountains and Lower Silesia,
Poland. Unfortunately for them, increased air domination from the British RAF
across Nazi Germany, forced high command to plan to move all armaments and manufacturing facilities
underground. By early 1945, the encroaching Red Army forced these plans to be abandoned.
Since the beginning of this project in 1943, the Nazis had done nothing but dig themselves
deeper into a hole, in those 2 years only 5.5 miles of tunnels had been excavated.
As the Nazis destroyed much of their documentation whilst the Third Reich burned as Rome once did,
the debate still rages on as to what the true purpose of the secretive Project Riese was.
#2Tintern Medieval Tunnel Early in 2021, a team of electricians
in South Wales made a significant archeological discovery that may date back over 800 years. The
crew was in the town of Tintern, a lush area of outstanding beauty near the English border.
Tasked with moving an electrical pole, they were in the process of excavating a shallow trench
when they unearthed an expansive tunnel. Ordnance Survey -- The national mapping
agency of the U.K. -- holds maps that date back to the 18th century, but they have no record of this
4-foot-high tunnel, which runs beneath a footpath and follows the local river through the valley.
Locals and visitors alike have walked above this stone marvel of engineering for hundreds of years
with no clue about what lingered below. Rumors immediately began to circulate that the tunnels
were somehow connected to the local Abbey, which was built nearly 900 years ago in 1131
by Cistercian monks. This Gothic masterpiece was the home of many generations of holy men
until King Henry VIII passed a law to dissolve monasteries in 1536. The Abbey
fell into ruin after this, possibly explaining why there is no documented evidence of these
secretive passageways. It may be years before the true extent and purposes are discovered,
but you can be sure archeologists are already poised with their trowels.
#1 Predjama Castle Perhaps the inspiration for Helm’s Deep,
this 16th-century castle can be found in Slovenia rather than Middle Earth – that being said,
it is built into the middle of the earth. This could explain why it took 400 years to finish
construction. But patience is a virtue, as the Slovenian version of Robin Hood would attest to.
In the 1400s, Erasmus of Lueg was warring with Austria when they tried to take his
castle. Predjama Castle was strategically built and essentially impregnable, the only chance the
Austrian army had was to play the waiting game. Trying to starve Erasmus and his armies out was a
futile effort. Amongst its many secrets, including treasure troves not discovered until 1991,
this castle also had secret tunnels. And in this instance, one very useful secret tunnel led to a
network of caves. An existing vertical shaft was bored out during the reign of Erasmus which exited
above the castle, about 25 meters from the cliff edge. Allowing the pantries to be kept stockpiled,
and spirits both high and flowing. These same passageways allowed him to continue his robbing
ways whilst supposedly under siege. Stories passed through the ages say Erasmus had gotten
so cocky that they threw cherries at his would-be attackers to show how sweet they had it.
However, the Austrians had the last laugh. Erasmus was betrayed by one of his own men,
and literally caught with his pants down… when he was shot with a cannon while on the toilet.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather be trapped in a series of pitch
black tunnels or stuck on a deserted island? Let us know in the comments section below.