100 feet deep! The Italian temple was built by 500 people, and they kept it secret for 16 years

In the foothills of the Italian Alps, one can find a clandestine cooperative known as Damanhur that created the Temples of Humankind, an underground architectural wonder that extends 100 feet (30 metres) below ground.

This beautiful structure, which covers an area of 8500 square metres, is believed to be the 'eighth wonder of the world' and was built by a group of 500 individuals over the course of 16 years in complete secrecy without having obtained any building permits or using large machinery. In 1992, this site was discovered by Italian authorities and now contains seven decorated halls linked by hundreds of meters of tunnels.

Aside from its beautiful artwork, the site serves as a 'high tech' spiritual laboratory where residents can use their own unique form of constitution, currency and claim the ability to practice 'time travel meditation' using specialised 'chronos cabins' designed to explore past lives.

How 500 people built a massive underground temple without anyone noticing

Building a massive temple measuring 8,500 square meters without anyone knowing about it would be quite the challenge. However, the 500 members used only pickaxes and buckets to dig out the rock.

The difficulty comes in hiding what they have removed from that location, as well as making sure that no one is aware of the large amount of material being removed from the site. To avoid detection from aerial surveillance, members surreptitiously hid thousands of tons of excavated rock within the foundations of new houses being built on the surface.According to the Journal of Contemporary Religion, the underground temple has been divided into seven separate ‘halls.’

Each hall has a specific theme associated with it, such as the Hall of Stars and the Hall of Earth. The walls of the hallways in these historical buildings have been covered with gold (or other materials), glass (stained glass), and pictures that are the size of an adult man. In addition, individuals living at the underground temple have their ‘sacred language’ that they speak.

They believe that their sacred language is the oldest form of communication in human history.

The day the secret was out: A police raid at gunpoint

In 1992, after being told by one of their former members about a ‘secret city,’ the Italian Police arrived on site, armed with a search warrant. The group refused to let them in, and the authorities threatened to blow their way in with dynamite, but fearing the destruction of their life's work, the group's founder, Oberto Airaudi, finally agreed to lead the officials into the mountain. To their shock, the officers were so impressed with the splendour of the subterranean halls that they abandoned plans to demolish the location altogether.

Seven magic halls and a secret language of this temple

The complex consists of seven enormous 'halls'- including the Hall of Mirrors and the Hall of Spheres- which are linked by 300 meters of tunnels. Each chamber represents a different element of human history or nature, decorated with stunning floor-to-ceiling murals and intricate stained glass. There is gold leaf covering the walls, stained glass windows, and murals measuring several stories in height. The residents also speak a unique language called ‘Sacred Language’, which they claim is the oldest language to be spoken by humans.