An ancient fortress from 3,000 years ago has been discovered at the bottom of a lake in Turkey

The underwater search was conducted by Van Y Universityüzüncü Yıl and the governorate of the eastern province of Bitlis in Turkey. Thanks to the work of archaeologistów, hundreds of metersóin beneath the surface of the water of Turkey’s largest salt lake have discovered ruins thatóre presumably from the timeóIn the Urartu civilization also known as the Królestwo Wan.

The search had been underway for nearly 10 years. Archaeologists in their research closely co-óThey worked with a team of diversów, which resulted in a sensational discovery. The walls of the ancient fortress are located in an area of about a square kilometer. The remains of the fortification rise to about 3-4 meters.

The ancient state of Urartu occupied the present-day territories of Armenia, Turkey and Iran. It stretched from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. Urartu held a strong position in the region. At the Wan Lake was the capital of the country. The first mention of KróThe Wan lieu dates back to the 13th century p.n.e. The collapse of Urartu occurred around the 6th century. p.n.e.

– There had been a rumor for years that there might be something underwater there, but most archaeologistów and officialów from the museum told us that we would not find anything,” said dive team leader Tahsin Ceylan. However, the study was started and it turned out to be a good move.

According to scientists, the water level in Lake Wan is currently several hundred meters higherów from what it was 3,000 years ago, at the time of the Urartu state. As the water level rose, local residents must have migrated to higher ground, as indicated by other parts of the ancient settlement, whichóre are found even above the current shoreline and are the subject of ongoing archaeological research.

– Many civilizations, settlements and people lived wokół of Wan Lake,” Ceylan said. – They named the lake „górne sea” and believed to hide many secrets. With this in mind, we will work to uncover these mysteries,” he added.

Syndromeół has not been able to determine how deep the walls are buried under the sediments at the bottom of the lake. For this, more field research will need to be conducted beneath its surface. Perhaps they will bring further sensational discoveries.

The lake has been repeatedly searched by an archaeologistów. Divers were lucky enough to find an ancient fortress. – It is a miracle that we found this underwater castle. Now the ball is in the archaeologist’s courtów, whichóThree will come here to study the history of the castle and provide information about it,” said Ceylan. – We gave the exact location of the castle and made photographic documentation – added.

During the search, a four-kilometer stalagmite field was foundów whichóre named "underwater fairy chimneys". Seljuk tombstones were also foundów of about 1,000 years ago. They also located the wreck of a Russian ship, whichóry probably sank in 1948.

Authorities in the region expect the underwater ruins to attract the interest of thousands of touristsów due to its exceptional historical value. Lake Wan is the largest lake in Turkey and the second largest in the Middle East. It is a rów also the largest soda lake in the world. The lake lies in a crater formed by the explosion of the Mount Nemrut volcano.