Karen Mutton: Ancient Subterranean Cities of Earth

Subterranean Realms is a unique book that surveys underground and rock cut structures created in the past. It is the third book in Mutton's trilogy on mysterious realms, the others being Sunken Realms and Water Realms. We know who built some of these astonishing and mysterious structures, but others were built by unknown civilizations in prehistory for reasons that are debated among researchers. Some subterranean structures may have been built for initiation ceremonies or perhaps for acoustic reasons, or both. Mutton discusses such interesting sites as: Derinkuyu, an underground city in Cappadocia, Turkey that housed 20,000 people; Roman catacombs of Domitilla; Palermo Capuchin catacombs; Alexandria catacombs; Paris catacombs; Maltese hypogeum; Rock-cut structures of Petra; Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae; Elephanta Caves, India; Lalibela, Ethiopia; Tarquinia Etruscan necropolis; Hallstatt salt mine; Beijing air raid shelters; Japanese high command Okinawa tunnels; more. There are tons of illustrations in this fascinating book!

Karen Mutton is a retired ancient history teacher, author, lecturer, world traveller and mother of three. She has written five books on ancient history and finance. Subterranean Realms is part of her “Realms” series, after Sunken Realms and Water Realms. Residing in Australia with her husband, daughter and cat, she enjoys researching, writing, socializing with family and friends as well as travelling to foreign countries to appreciate their culture and history. She lives in Sydney.