A team of researchers, divers, and underwater photographers recently made an incredible discovery at the bottom of a massive lake. While exploring Lake Van in Turkey’s eastern Van Province, they stumbled upon a hidden treasure—a 3,000-year-old fortress that has been submerged beneath the water for decades.
Initially, the team was on a quest to find another legendary creature—the terrifying Lake Van monster. Although they didn’t encounter the monster, stumbling upon an ancient castle is still quite thrilling.
“Most archaeologists and museum officials told us that we wouldn’t find anything, but there was a rumor that something might be hidden underwater,” said project leader Tahsin Ceylan in an interview with the Daily Sabah. And that rumor turned out to be true. After a decade of searching, the team’s perseverance finally paid off.
The castle, stretching about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) in length, boasts walls that reach an impressive height of 3 to 4 meters (10-13 feet). Fortunately, the alkaline conditions of the lake have helped preserve it in relatively good condition.
Constructed primarily with cut stones, the castle is believed to be from the Urartu civilization, which thrived during the Iron Age. Its peak was between the 9th and 6th centuries BCE, and the civilization is sometimes referred to as the Kingdom of Van.
Over the past few thousand years, the water levels of Lake Van have fluctuated significantly, suggesting that numerous groups may have inhabited the area when it was shallower than it is today.
“Lake Van was surrounded by many civilizations and people who believed it held numerous mysterious secrets,” explained Ceylan in an interview with Hurriyet Daily News. “With this belief in mind, we are working to uncover the lake’s ‘secrets’.”
But the castle isn’t the only remarkable find beneath the lake’s surface. Last year, the team discovered 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles) of stalagmites, which they affectionately named “underwater fairy chimneys.” They also stumbled upon gravestones dating back 1,000 years. This year, they even uncovered a Russian ship that is believed to have sunk in 1948.
“Finding this underwater castle is truly a miracle. Archaeologists will come here to study its history and provide valuable insights,” added Ceylan.
There is still much to learn about the castle. For instance, it remains unclear how deeply the walls are buried in the sediment at the lake’s bottom. Further exploration of the fortress could potentially unlock new clues about the people who constructed it.
“We believe that we have discovered a new area for archaeologists and historians to explore,” said Ceylan.
