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History => Ancient and Medieval History => Topic started by: davidb on November 23, 2017, 05:14:36 PM

Title: 3,000 year old fortress found in lake in Turkey
Post by: davidb on November 23, 2017, 05:14:36 PM

I don't know if people have seen this.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/castle-discovered-lake-turkey-underwater-lake-van-urartu-thousands-years-old-a8070911.html
Title: Re: 3,000 year old fortress found in lake in Turkey
Post by: Patrick Waterson on November 23, 2017, 07:29:46 PM
Intriguing.  The fortress is ascribed to the Urartu civilisation (c.9th-7th centuries BC) but the lake in which it is found is considered to have been around for 600,000 years.

That said, Lake Van, despite having no outlet, has been subject to very considerable fluctuations in extent and hence depth.  It is thus quite conceivable that the location of the fortress was dry land at the time of building - and quite hard to see how it could have been built otherwise.
Title: Re: 3,000 year old fortress found in lake in Turkey
Post by: Duncan Head on November 23, 2017, 08:51:36 PM
A little more context on the underthewaterness from the National Geographic's version, at https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/11/underwater-fortress-urartu-lake-van-turkey-archaeology-video-spd/ :

QuoteThe archaeologists believe rising lake levels slowly submerged parts of the city over time. Large village ruins from this period can also still be found around the lake's edges, above the current water level.
Title: Re: 3,000 year old fortress found in lake in Turkey
Post by: aligern on November 25, 2017, 11:33:43 PM
Surely they were Yorkshiremen, living in paper bags eating broken glass, beaten every day and glad for a good thrashing.
R
Title: Re: 3,000 year old fortress found in lake in Turkey
Post by: Patrick Waterson on November 26, 2017, 09:08:07 AM
And complaining about it being always wet?
Title: Re: 3,000 year old fortress found in lake in Turkey
Post by: Erpingham on November 26, 2017, 09:53:29 AM
We lived in't ruin at the bottom o' lake, but tell that to young people today and they won't believe it?
Title: Re: 3,000 year old fortress found in lake in Turkey
Post by: nikgaukroger on November 26, 2017, 12:36:14 PM
But post it on Facebook or Twitter and it is instantly a #FACT   :P
Title: Re: 3,000 year old fortress found in lake in Turkey
Post by: Patrick Waterson on November 26, 2017, 02:14:02 PM
Ay, that's what we were when water came in through roof.