A guy who ventured into a hidden underground cave was astounded to see a collection of creepy legendary sculptures.
Mike Corey, a YouTuber, had no clue that Optimistic Cave in rural southern Ukraine would be filled with strange and exquisitely crafted sculptures until he arrived.
The cave is also home to intriguing minotaurs and a scary grim reaper. It is the world’s fifth-largest cave and the world’s largest underground hideaway constructed of valuable gypsum crystals.
The sculptures discovered in the enormous 140 mile (230km) bunker are impossible to date since they are surrounded by glittering crystals that might date back millions of years.
They might be linked to the explorers who initially found the massive cave in 1966, but no one knows for sure.
The spooky concealment was characterized as “a bit creepy” by the ‘Fearless and Far’ YouTuber, understating his actual dread.
“It looks like death,” Mike added.
On the so-called “tough guy” trip, which involves a full-scale 5-hour investigation of the under-explored depths, the YouTuber ventured into the terrifying depths.
The cave has been popular with Ukrainians since its spectacular discovery in 1966, but it has mostly been left to its own devices as attention has waned.
Mike’s trip became even more enigmatic – and lonely – as a result of this.
“Look at the walls,” he added.
“The walls are made of pure crystal, which is incredible.”
Hand-sculpted sculptures of humans and beasts are buried in cracks throughout the hundreds of miles of narrow, twisting tunnels.
Mike teased the intriguing video in an Instagram post to his 102k followers.
“4 hours inside ‘Optimistic Cave’ in Ukraine,” the BBC Travel Show host wrote.
“The speleologists who research this labyrinth created clay animals to guard these huge crystals.
“Many people dwell down here for weeks or months at a time, charting the tunnels and attempting to determine the true size of the cave.”
“Are gypsum crystals worth half a day of squeezing through cracks and fissures in the world’s fourth largest subterranean maze?”
“I was on the lookout for a wicked underground hideaway.”
The sculptures, whatever their origin, aren’t anything any explorer would want to be left alone with.
That’s not even taking into account how they got there or if they were carved on the inside.
It’s apparent that the Optimistic Cave still has a lot of mysteries to reveal.
Let us know your opinions in the comments.
