Lake Hazar
| Lake Hazar | |
|---|---|
Lake Hazar and pine trees | |
Lake Hazar | |
| Location | Taurus Mountains |
| Coordinates | 38°29′N 39°25′E / 38.483°N 39.417°E |
| Lake type | Rift lake |
| Primary outflows | Tigris |
| Basin countries | Turkey |
| Max. length | 22 km (14 mi) |
| Max. width | 6 km (3.7 mi) |
Lake Hazar (Turkish: Hazar Gölü; Kurdish: Gola Hezarê; Armenian: Ծովք լիճ, romanized: Covk‘ lič) is a rift lake in the Taurus Mountains, 22 km southeast of Elazığ, notable as the source of the Tigris.
Sunken city
Scientists found 4,000-year-old archaeological traces of a city, estimated to have been submerged since 1830, below the lake. Turkey wanted to register this historic 'Sunken City' in eastern Anatolia as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1]
Ebubakar Irmak, mayor of Sivrice, dove into the lake in 2017 and found the remains of churches, walls of a castle, pots, pottery and glazed plates of the citadel with traces of the Seljuk, Byzantine and Ottoman eras.[2][3] In 2019, amphora tombs were found in the sunken city.[4]
Based on the writings of the Armenian author Urfali Mateos, who lived during the Seljuk era, researchers know that a small fortress once stood at this site during the Byzantine period, and that a monastery was subsequently built there in the Seljuk period.[5]
References
- ^ "Ancient underwater city in Turkey sparks interest". Ancient underwater city in Turkey sparks interest (in Turkish). Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Underwater ancient city in Turkey sparks interest". Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ Şafak, Yeni. "Underwater ancient city in Turkey sparks interest". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ Amphora tombs found in sunken city
- ^ "Underwater ancient city in Turkey sparks interest". Anadolu Ajansı. 14 October 2018.