Free Republic

The Gran Acuifero Maya (GAM), a project dedicated to the study and preservation of the subterranean waters of the Yucatan peninsula, said the 216-mile (347km) cave was identified after months of exploring a maze of underwater channels. Near the beach resort of Tulum, the project found that the cave system known as Sac Actun, once measured at 163 miles, is actually connected with the 53-mile Dos Ojos system. In a statement, GAM said for that reason, Sac Actun now absorbs Dos Ojos. GAM director and underwater archaeologist Guillermo de Anda hailed the discovery as an 'amazing' find. He also said...

Long stretches of densely packed tenement buildings still line the concrete streets of the Lower East Side, standing as living artefacts of its 19th- and 20th-century immigrant past. Bathtubs sit in renovated kitchens and floor-to-ceiling windows look out on to brick walls in elegant attempts to mask the neighbourhood’s cramped topography. This tension courses down Clinton Street, where some of the city’s best restaurants now occupy narrow storefronts that once sold pickled herring from barrels. “There’s so much cultural resonance there, but it’s a part of the city that’s bereft of public space, landmarks or any civic attention,” the architect...

Subterranean vault dating back to 8th Hejira century found beneath the Citadel An immense subterranean vault was found beneath the Citadel in Cairo on 7/6/2007, said the Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni. The vault dates back to the era of King Al-Nasser Mohamed Ben Qalawun in the 8th century of Hejira, said the Minister. The vault extends along 200 meters between Al-Ablaq Palace and the sideline palaces of the Citadel.

Parthian era subterranean village discovered near Maragheh Tehran Times Culture Desk TEHRAN (MNA) -- Iranian archaeologists have discovered a Parthian era village under the earth near the Mehr Temple of the northwestern city of Maragheh, the director of the Maragheh Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department said on Wednesday. “Since the Mehr Temple is one of the little known sites of Iran, our team planned to carry out some excavations around it to ascertain some details about the temple. The excavations resulted in the discovery of an underground village which archaeologists believe dates back to the Parthian era,” Nasser Zavvari added....

ELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — The rolling pine forests, snowcapped mountains and crisp fall evenings here tend to make people forget the fact that the park sits atop a huge simmering underground volcano. But new geologic events have served up reminders.In a few days in July, acidic ground water dissolved parts of the unpaved trails in the Norris Geyser Basin, and the ground temperature of the trails shot up to 200 degrees from the usual maximum of 80. Park officials closed nearly half of the basin's trails, and they remain shut. On Aug. 21, a magnitude 4.4 earthquake shook the...