Scientists Stunned By Mysterious Tunnels Discovered Under Africa
When we think of life on Earth, we usually picture what’s above ground: plants, animals, and people. But scientists are increasingly finding that some of the biggest mysteries are hiding beneath our feet.
Researchers have uncovered tiny tunnels carved deep inside ancient marble and limestone in deserts across Africa and the Middle East, but they still don’t fully understand how or why they're there. The strange formations were first spotted about 15 years ago in Namibia by a team from Germany’s Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.
Since then, similar tunnels have been discovered in Oman and Saudi Arabia. They're small, just about an inch long and only half a millimetre wide, and at first glance, they don’t seem like much. But under a microscope, they tell a different story.
These tiny tubes, also called micro-burrows, are unlike anything caused by natural erosion or shifting rock. “We were surprised,” said Professor Cees Passchier, a geologist who’s been studying the tunnels for years. “These tubes are clearly not the result of a geological process.”
Instead, scientists now believe they were made by something alive. The tunnels seem to have been carved deliberately, as if by an organism that burrowed through the rock to feed on it.
The theory is that some form of microbial life may have created the tunnels while living inside the stone, something that could survive in extreme environments, deep underground, without light.
You can see tiny parallel tunnels running through this rock from Namibia
That idea isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. An entire group of microorganisms known as endoliths lives in the inner cracks and pores of rocks, corals, and even shells.
They extract nutrients from minerals in the rock itself. Some are known to survive in extreme conditions, like deep ocean vents or arid deserts. But even within that strange category of life, the discovery in these desert rocks is unusual.
One clue is the fine powder found inside the tunnels. It’s made of calcium carbonate, which could be the leftover waste from whatever creature burrowed through the marble.
This adds weight to the theory that something once lived there and was actively processing the minerals. Still, researchers haven’t found any actual biological material, no DNA, no proteins, which makes it impossible to say precisely what kind of organism was responsible.
“We don’t currently know whether this is a life form that has become extinct,” said Passchier in an interview with SciTechDaily, “or is still alive somewhere.”
Cees PasschierScientists are still puzzled by the creature that dug the tunnels.
Dating methods suggest the tunnels were made one to two million years ago, but without any preserved cells or other evidence, it's impossible to tell if this creature- or something like it- still exists.
The fact that it could survive in complete darkness also raises interesting questions about what other life might be hiding in places we rarely look.
Cees PasschierFor now, it’s a scientific mystery without a clear answer. Passchier and his team have published their findings in the Geomicrobiology Journal in the hopes that other researchers might pick up where they left off.
He’s particularly interested in hearing from specialists who study endolithic organisms, as they may have a better shot at identifying what kind of life form made the tunnels or whether it's part of an entirely new category of life.
Until then, these tiny marks in ancient rock remain a puzzle. They could be evidence of long-gone life or a hint that something is still down there, quietly moving through the stone, far out of sight.
