How an Armenian man manually dug an underground temple: BBC

PanARMENIAN.Net - An underground temple as tall as a seven-storey building is located in the Armenian village of Arinj, BBC Russia says in an article about Levon Arakelyan who created passages, spiral staircases and rooms all by himself.

Everything began in 1985 when Levon’s wife Tosya Gharibyan asked him to dig a basement. Levon went on to dig for 23 years and created a real work of art, local residents say.

Levon did everything by hand, using only a hammer and a chisel. He even quit his job for the project, the newspaper says.

Levon died of a heart attack at age 68. Now a popular tourist site in Armenia, the venue is known as the underground temple of grandfather Levon, the publication concludes.