Typically, sunken cities are the stuff of legend, but archaeologists discovered the real thing hiding deep beneath Lake Van in Turkey at the end of last year.
After a decade of searching for the second largest lake in the Middle
East, the home of a lost kingdom was discovered hundreds of metres below the
surface.
The stunning discovery was revealed in November 2017 by archaeologists
from Van Yüzüncü Yıl University – a massive 3,000-year-old castle preserved in
amazing condition deep inside the lake. To find their prize, the researchers
collaborated closely with an independent team of divers.
Lost underwater cities and castles are a popular motif in folklore and local
legend around the world. Indeed, so are stories of ancient lost monsters hiding
in deep lakes.
Tahsin Ceylan, head of the diving team on the project, first came in
search of the Lake Van Monster, but uncovered a lost city instead.
“There was a rumour that there might be something under the water but
most archaeologists and museum officials told us that we won’t find anything,”
he told Daily Sabah.
The castle spans around a kilometre, with walls standing as high as 3
or 4 metres, kept in good condition by the alkaline waters of the lake.
It is, the researchers believe, an Iron Age relic of the lost Urartu
civilisation, also called the Kingdom of Van, which thrived in the region from
the 9th to the 6th centuries BCE.
The water level of the lake, however, has fluctuated quite dramatically
over the millennia, and the researchers believe that the level was far lower at
the height of the Urartian society than it is today, slowly rising over time to
cover parts of the city.
Other parts of the ancient settlement are much higher, even above the
current shoreline, and are the subject of ongoing archaeological study.
“Many civilisations and people had settled around Lake Van,” Ceylan
said.
“They named the lake the ‘upper sea’ and believed it had many
mysterious things. With this belief in mind, we are working to reveal the
lake’s ‘secrets’.”
The work is slowly paying off. Last year the team also discovered a
4-kilometre-square field of stalagmites they call “underwater fairy chimneys”
under the lake, and gravestones from the Seljuk era, some 1,000 years ago.
Earlier this year they announced the discovery of a Russian ship
believed to have sunk in 1948.
The team has not been able to ascertain how deeply the walls are buried
under the sediment on the lake floor, and more fieldwork under the surface of
Lake Van will be required to learn more about the structure – and hopefully the
people who lived within.
“It is a miracle to find this castle underwater. Archaeologists will
come here to examine the castle’s history and provide information on it,”
Ceylan said.
“We have detected the castle’s exact location and photographed it and
have made progress in our research. We now believe we have discovered a new
area for archaeologists and historians to study.”
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