Who would ever think that midway between Doullens and Amiens below yes underneath the quiet village of Naours there is an underground city, which used to be a secret underground city, where during the 3rd century men started to dig into the rock, caves, chambers and galleries to link them all together.

Used initially as a stone quarry to build the village, it came to be a place in which the local people could take refuge against invaders such as the barbarian invasions of the 3rd and 4th century and then again in the 9th century against the Norman invasions. Over the years, wars and invasions followed each other in Picardie and the population of the village frequently found themselves using the Caves as refuge. These are known as the Caves of Naours which is the largest underground hideaway in France .

In 1887 a man named Abbot Danicourt who was the local priest rediscovered the caves and gave names and numbers to the tunnels/galleries to enable people to find their way around in this vast maze in the Underground City. Being keen on Archaeology Abbott Danicourt spent time excavating, re-transcribing inscriptions and enlarging the caves during which time he found numerous objects such as cooking utensils, gold coins and animal skeletons. During both world wars the caves were requisitioned by the military, in World War 1 allied forces, mainly Australian and then in World War 2 the Germans.

The Underground City was opened to the public in 1949 by Raymond Martin. This hideaway which always maintains a constant temperature of 9 degrees centigrade known locally as “muches” which means hiding places in the Picardie dialect, can be found 33 metres down under a hill and could accommodate up to 3000 people including their animals. When inside you find that the city was quite well organised.

There are 28 galleries measuring up to 2000 metres long, 300 chambers offset from each other so as to provide extra privacy for the up to 10 residents in each chamber, public squares, water wells, stables, a chapel and massive chimneys each measuring one metre in diameter, which were all dug with the help of a tool called a “Herminette” which is a type of Adze.

Inside the Underground City you will see a fossil of a sea urchin which was there when that part of France was still under the sea. Apparently, this makes the fossil approximately 70 million years old.

The chimneys are found in several of the large open areas which were necessary for airing and ventilation. Originally the tops of the chimneys emerged out on top of the hillside, but in order to out manoeuvre the enemy it was decided to block the chimneys at some 7 metres down and then divert them so that they emerged much farther away inside one of the three millers’ houses elsewhere on the hill.

When you visit the Caves of Naours, you will be shown round by a tour guide, the tour lasts for 45 minutes.