Underground Places
- Grenada, Spain
- Matmata, Tunisia
- Portland, Oregon
- Malta
- Havre, Montana
- Liverpool, England
The Sacromonte
To the north of the ancient city of Grenada is the Sacromonte (Sacred Mountain). Here, the Sacromonte Abbey sits on top of catacombs that originated as Roman mines. But the mountain itself is far more interesting than the abbey. Its sides are riddled with caves that have been inhabited by Gitanos—Spanish gypsies—for centuries. Today, their underground dwellings have plumbing and electricity, and many feature public areas used for flamenco performances.
For more than a thousand years, the Berber people have inhabited the underground desert town of Matmata. Today, Matmata has more than 100 houses and at least one hotel. The village was used as the location of Luke Skywalker’s home in the first Star Wars movie.
The Shanghai Tunnels
By the beginning of the 20th century, Portland had earned a reputation the most dangerous port in the US. In the basements of many a tavern and hotel in the city’s Old Town were tunnels that snaked down to the waterfront. Unsuspecting young men were often "shanghaied"—drugged, dropped through a trapdoor, and dragged through the tunnels to waiting ships where they were sold as slaves.
The Hypogeum and St. Paul’s Catacombs
Malta is particularly rich in underground sites. Its Hypogeum, an underground complex of passages, halls, and chambers was discovered by accident in 1902. It’s thought to be more than 5,000 years old. Malta also boasts the St. Paul’s Catacombs—large underground Roman cemeteries that were used as late as the 4th century AD.
At the turn of the 20th century, the town of Havre was destroyed by fire. While the residents waited for the town to be rebuilt, they temporarily relocated their businesses underground. Today, the hundred-year-old subterranean town still exists, and one is welcome to visit its bakery, laundry, barbershop, and restaurant—not to mention its saloon, bordellos, and opium dens.
The Williamson Tunnels
No one knows what inspired a wealthy tobacco merchant named Joseph Williamson to build a system of tunnels underneath the Edge Hill area of Liverpool at the beginning of the 19th century. After the death of the man known as the "mad mole" in 1840, the tunnels (along with underground living areas and a banquet hall) were allowed to fill with rubbish, and it was only in the 1990s that they began to be cleared and opened to the public.