“Secrets of the Ages: Discover the Massive Underground City Hidden Beneath Historic Central Iran!”
How Abarkuh’s Underground City Was Once Used
As Hatami told Iranian media, it appears that the underground city in Abarkuh likely served multiple different purposes in centuries past. But initially, the tunnels served as an aqueduct for the city.
“The tunnels in Abarkuh… were primarily built for water management, specifically for the qanat [underground canal] system,” Irina Tsukerman, a geopolitical analyst and the president of Scarab Rising, who has written about the Qajars for Modern Diplomacy, told All That’s Interesting. “These tunnels were used to transport water from underground aquifers to the surface for irrigation, drinking, and other uses in the arid region.”
IRNAWalking through the tunnels of Abarkuh, which once likely served as both an aqueduct and a refuge from scorching temperatures above round.
Because Abarkuh is located in the desert, tunnels like these were crucial.
“The tunnels allowed for water to flow from distant sources to the city, reducing evaporation and maintaining a more reliable water supply for agriculture and daily life,” Tsukerman explained. “In addition to their practical purpose, the design of these tunnels was ingeniously adapted to the region’s hot climate. The qanat tunnels are often quite deep and well-ventilated, ensuring that the water remained cool as it traveled through the underground channels.”
But ancient people didn’t just use the tunnels for managing water. Cool and dark, they also offered a reprieve from hot summer days.
IRNAThe tunnels were used to manage the city’s water supply and may have served as a refuge in case of attack.
As Hatami remarked, the tunnels also provided a “cool and peaceful space” during the hottest times of the year, which led to the “gradual creation of large halls…so that the people of the desert land of Abarkuh could use it as a resting place and perhaps a place to live during the hot summer days.”
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