Although there are settleents belonging to the Preshistoric Peroid in the Cappadocia Region, it is still unknown whether these settlements were connected with the underground cities. However, the people of the Prehistoric Period must have lived in man-made rock shelters consisting of only a couple of rooms.

Although there are settleents belonging to the Preshistoric Peroid in the Cappadocia Region, it is still unknown whether these settlements were connected with the underground cities. However, the people of the Prehistoric Period must have lived in man-made rock shelters consisting of only a couple of rooms.

There are a great number of high-reliefs on the rock surfaces, and monuments with inscriptions, both dating from the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. There are also well-made underground passages called "Poter", which were used in the defense systems of Hittite towns, which can be accepted as an evidence that the consturction and development of underground settlements owe much to the Hittites. These hidden passages in the Hittite towns would generally be used to lay ambush for the raiding enemies to surround them from behind. If it was the Hittites who hollowed out some parts of these settlements, they did so for militar purposes. Therefore, it is normal not to find any archaeological artifacts in these passages, other thoughts suggest that the artefacts qere removed by later dwellers.

Although the Cappadocia region was not one of the main dwelling areas of the Hittites, it is possible to see traces of the Hittite civilization in all the ancient settlements of the region. There was no reason for the Hittites not to hollow out the soft tufa or live in these places. Besides, the presence of underground settlements near the incribed rock monuments in Topada (Agilli) and Sivasa supports this idea.

The rock-tombs belonging to the Romen Era, especially near Nevsehir, are situated near the underground settlements, and like those, were spread widely throughout the area. In addittion to this, it is possible to see the kinds with niches both in the rooms of of the rock-tombs and in the underground settlements. This supports the idea that the peole of the Roman Era also played a role in the construction of the underground settlements. Everything discovered in these underground settlements belongs to the Byzantine Peroid between the 5th and the 10th centuries A.D. The number of the underground settlements, generally used for taking refuge and for religious reasons, increased during this era. The Christian communities in the region had to take refuge closing millstone doors when they were subjected to the Arab-Sasanid raids, which started in the 7th century during the Byzantine period. The enemy, being aware of the dangers waiting for them inside, usually tried to make the local people leva their shelters by poisoning the wells.

It is assumed that the Seljuks also used these underground cities as dwellings and for military purposes, because the Seljuk Caravanserais in the Cappadocia Region are 5-10 km from these underground settlements; Dolayhan Caravanserai-Til underground Settlement, Saruhna Caravanserai -Ozkonak Underground Settlement, Agzikarahan Caravanserai-Pinarbasi (Geyral) Underground Settlement.

The earlest document source regarding the underground settlements is Xenephon's book, "Anabasis". Xenephon mentioned that the people living in Anatolia and Caucasia holloed out their houses into the ground and that these houses were connected to each otherwith passages. Since Xenephon lived in the 4th century B.C., it is possible to date the underground settlements to near and around that era.

German Martin Urban, who did the earliest researches in the region between 1960-1970 dates the underground settlements to the 8th-7th centuries B.C.Consequently, in the light of all the information we have, to date the underground settlements as early as the same time as the first civilizations in the region, that is, the Prehistoric Period, is not inanccurate. To hollow out the soft tufa using simple tools would not be difficult for the people of the Prehistoric Period, who could use stone effectively. The underground settlements, consisted of fevw rooms at that time, were enlarged by other people living in the area in the later periods, giving them today's shape but diminishing the artifacts from the previous people. However, that the underground settlements were used most widely during the Byzantine Peroid should not be disregarded.

AEROPORT TRANSFER