Archaic Lost Kingdom Uncovered In European Lake

600,000 years ago, a forgotten lake was formed. As the years passed by, an important part of history became submerged by the lake and it has just been discovered.

Beautiful Lake

A stunning turquoise lake that sits in the middle of vast mountain terrain, surrounded by nature that glistens the brightest colors of green, there, resting above the lake on a cliff edge is an archaic church, ringed by wonderfully diverse flowers. Even with this breathtaking scene, the most special thing about the area was out of sight, underneath the surface of the lake.

Ancient Disaster

Nestled between Eastern Europe and Asia, the lake is one of the largest lakes in the area and is called, Lake Van. The enclosing mountains deliver a constant stream of water into the lake and following a natural disaster that occurred thousands of years ago, the lake is now the worlds biggest endorheic lakes.

Hidden History

The natural disaster blocked the lake’s outlet, meaning that the volcanic eruption caused it’s salinity to continuously rise. Although the landscape can be hit hard during the winter months, as snow perches on top of the mountains, with an altitude of 5,380 ft, the lake does not freeze. When the ancient discovery was made, researchers wondered if it was due to the eruption that this miraculous piece of history became buried.

So Long Ago

As the lake is more than 600,000 years old, over time, the levels of the water have increased significantly. The elevation of the lake eventually engulfed the ancient building. As a result of the lake’s age, it has often been a subject of interest to scientists but they never expected to find this.

Living Legend

Centuries ago, way back to the Iron Age era, there was a long forgotten kingdom named Urartu and it’s capital, Tushpa, was located around the lake. It was at this time during the 9th century that the Urartu Kingdom reigned over the entire area of Lake Van. Since then, people have passed on, all the way from 860-560 BC, a legend, however, no evidence had ever been found, until now.

The Tales Of The Lake

As they became fascinated with the area and its stories, a group of archaeologists set out on a mission in 2017. Would they be the ones to find truth in the tales of Lake Van? They certainly weren’t the first to try and prove there was substance in the myths, and it was back in the 1950s and 1960s that other researchers took to the area to conduct a survey, and even back then, they found something rather telling.

It Could Of Already Been Discovered

The survey addressed some of the regularly asked questions regarding Lake Van and stated that between A.D 476 and 1450, there once existed a structure that could now be resting in the lake. In the ‘50s and ‘60s, it was very hard for them to prove any of their theories due to the lack of accurate underwater technology.

University Project

Knowing that the research team needed to be made up of some of the best in their fields, a group of the very best researchers was devised. A professor from Yan Yüzüncü Yıl University led the search and gathered a mixture of historians, divers, and researchers for the adventure. Setting out on the task, none of them had any idea they were about to make history.

City Of Atlantis

As the decades had gone by, many researchers attempted to wonder the depths of the lake, but none were successful in finding anything of great significance. It was because of this, that even though the team was excited, they never expected to see something so unimaginable.

Complete Shock

As they dove deep into the lake, they began to give up on the search and then, one diver had a hunch to go even further. Then, far in this distance as they turned direction, their lives changed forever. Hundreds of miles below the mountain tops of old Urartu, they found a 3,000-year-old building.

Deep In The Water

Resting there on the lake bed, was an ancient castle that was almost perfectly preserved (due to the water’s salinity). Setting out on a search for the golden prize, they didn’t once expect to find anything and because of the flicker of doubt they had in their minds, they were in complete shock at the discovery. Leading the team was a gentleman called Tahsin Ceylan, who originally wanted to find the mythical Lake Van Monster. Ceylan said, “There was a rumor that there might be something under the water, but most archaeologists and museum officials told us that we won’t find anything.”

Mysterious Castle

Standing tall in an immaculate condition, the castle was grand. Each member of the research team had questions swirling around their heads; exactly how did the castle find its place at the bottom of Lake Van and why didn’t anyone know about it? With walls that reached 4 meters high, the construction of the kingdom spanned about a kilometer. But when did the discovery exist above the water?

Lost City

As many of the tales came from that of the lost Urartu civilization, the team had finally identified evidence from that erased part of the Iron Age. The area also took on another name in the past and it was known as the Kingdom of Van, and it existed there from the 9th to the 6th centuries BCE. The lake had drowned all confirmation of those times.

Finding The Truth

When the Urartu people existed, the levels of Lake Van would have been drastically lower, meaning they could have built on the lake bed. With water levels rising over the millennia, everything was lost. The find has sparked multiple research teams to head out to Lake Van in search of the other rumored legends of the lake.

Buried Deep Into The Floor

The kingdom was made up of fallen structures, as well as sections of the castle that appeared as they did when it was first constructed. Around the lake, there are other ancient buildings that until now, nobody had fully understood what they were in relation to but it all made sense. The castle was buried deep into the lake bed, so details of it’s true height wasn’t able to be gathered.

Drawing In The Rock

Discovering the castle has sent historians into overdrive with the need for them to uncover who exactly built the castle and what it was used for? It raised many questions and many wondered if the Urartu race still lived there as the kingdom drowned in the lake. Looking further into their discovery, Ceylan’s team was astonished to find a carving of a lion on a piece of the castle’s stone. What did the lion represent?

Which Time Period?

Checking with certain historians, the team understood that the Urartians used the lion as a motif to represent their kingdom. This revelation caused some conflicting theories with an archaeologist named Geoffrey Summers saying, “it looks more medieval than something from the Urartian kingdom”.

Conflicting Theories

As further research was conducted, news came to light that the stones used to build the castle had come from a previous civilization to the Urartians. Another professor then came forward and said, “The walls [seem] medieval or late antique period rather than Urartu. Urartian never used any material between ashlar wall stones to connect each other.” Did any other professionals have anything else to add?

More Opinions

In a book written on the mysteries of Lake Van, it read, “a lofty wall of later than Urartian times runs under the lake.” Author P. Hulin told of his detailed inscriptions revelation and wrote how they described a past King of Urartu, His Highness Rusa. Sadly, due to the passing of time, the inscriptions had worn away and only a small portion of the wording could be identified.

More Research

With an influx of archaeologists, researchers and divers flocking to the site, information on the area has begun to spiral, with each team having a different opinion and claiming the find proves something different. The team leader of the original team commented, “The area needs to be thoroughly researched by [an] archaeologist.” Let’s hope they get confirmation on this fascinating lost castle and kingdom, sitting deep in Lake Van.