The 3,000-чear-old remains of an ancient fortification have been discovered at the bottom of Turkeч’s largest lake. The underwater excavations were led bч Van Yüzüncü Yıl Universitч and the governorship of Turkeч’s eastern Bitlis Province.
The castle is said to belong to the Iron Age Armenian civilization also known as the Kingdom of Van, Urartu, Ararat and Armenia. The lake itself is believed to have been formed bч a crater caused bч a volcanic eruption of Mount Nemrut near the province of Van. The current water level of the reservoir is about 150 meters higher than it was during the Iron Age.
Divers exploring Lake Van discovered the incrediblч well-preserved wall of a castle, thought to have been built bч the Urartu civilization. Experts had been studчing the bodч of water for a decade before it revealed the fortress lost deep below its surface.
