Ancient ruins may be submerged settlement in Van Lake

VAN

Ceylan first documented underwater structures in the area in 2017, later recording a stone fortress-like structure and circular formations.

Divers exploring Van Lake in eastern Türkiye have documented a large circular structure and a long wall made of interlocking stone blocks, raising the possibility that previously unknown settlement remains may lie beneath the lake.

The structures were recorded at a depth of about 23 meters, according to reports citing researcher Matthew LaCroix, who was involved in recent dives in the area.

Images show a wall consisting of seven courses of stone rising more than 2.4 meters from the lakebed, with three steps leading toward a large circular structure. LaCroix said he measured the structure for more than 45 meters, but the stonework continued beyond the divers’ field of view.

“What we know of the underwater ruins may just be a tiny piece of something much larger,” LaCroix told the Daily Mail.

The researcher has suggested that the remains could be at least 11,700 years old and possibly as old as 40,000 years.

His estimate, however, is based on interpretations of geological and volcanic activity in the Van Lake region rather than direct archaeological dating of the structures.

Other researchers have suggested that the remains could instead date to the Urartian period, around 3,000 years ago, or to the medieval era.

The first underwater structures in the area were documented in 2017 by Turkish underwater filmmaker Tahsin Ceylan, who was studying microbialites and pearl mullet in Van Lake Divers subsequently recorded a stone fortress-like structure and several circular formations beneath the lake.

Ceylan and LaCroix conducted another dive in 2025. According to reports, the significance of the long stone wall became apparent only after footage from the dives was reviewed again.

A stone bearing a symbol resembling a six-spoked “Flower of Life” motif has also been documented at the site.

Despite the latest findings, there is currently no archaeological evidence confirming the existence of a previously unknown “lost city” at the site.

The date, function and extent of the newly documented structures remain unclear and would require systematic underwater archaeological research, mapping and
direct dating.