The architectural monstrosity known as the Obelisk is only the entrance to a far larger complex of halls, buildings, tunnels, caves and mineshafts known by anthropologists as the Necropolis, the true architectural wonder of the region. Only the first level bears signs of permanent inhabitation, housing perhaps 20,000 people at most. The second appears to have been in a state of colonisation, with many constructions which were never occupied. However, the true mystery of the Necropolis is in the rest of its structure; no exploration party has ever found its bottom. In 1959, an armed expedition sponsored by the Department of Knowledge managed to reach the 17th level before turning back due to a lack of supplies and continued attacks by the inhabitants of the Underdown, which have infested most of the complex from the third level and downwards. A full 2/3 of the expedition members perished, including the team leader. Their notes describe a degrading architectural style beginning from the 8th layer and onwards, becoming wholly otherwordly by the end of their trip downwards.
