Thirty-five women from rural neighborhoods in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır are contributing to ongoing archaeological excavations at the 3,000-year-old Zerzevan Castle, which was used as a military settlement during the Roman Empire.
Located 13 kilometers from the Çınar district near Demirölçek neighborhood, the castle is located on a 124-meter-high rocky hill. Scientific excavations at the site, where the world’s last known Mithras Temple within a military settlement was uncovered, continue to shed light on history.
The site was included on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2020 and become one of the city’s key tourism attractions, drawing domestic and international visitors while excavations continue throughout the year.
Launched in 2014 with contributions from the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office, the Çınar District Governor’s Office, Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, Diyarbakır Museum Directorate, Dicle University, the Karacadağ Development Agency, the GAP Regional Development Administration and the Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR), the excavations have so far revealed extensive remains across a 1,000-decare area.
Findings include 15-meter-high and 1,200-meter-long fortification walls, a 21-meter-high watchtower and defense tower, a church, administrative buildings, residences, grain and weapons storage areas, rock-cut tombs, water canals and 63 cisterns, an underground church, a 400-person underground shelter, hidden passages and the underground Mithras Temple that lost its significance after the adoption of Christianity in the fourth century A.D.
A comprehensive restoration project also continues to ensure the preservation of the historic castle for future generations.
Under a project prepared by the Çınar District Governor’s Office and implemented within İŞKUR’s “Workforce Adaptation Program,” 35 women from the rural Demirölçek and Aşağıkonak neighborhoods are working at the excavation site for six months.
After receiving training, the women assist the expert excavation team three days a week while also contributing to their household incomes.
Çınar District Governor Zikrullah Erdoğan said the project aims to increase women’s employment in the field.
“The project was launched in January within the scope of the Workforce Adaptation Program. We wanted women to take part in revealing the impact of women once again at the 3,000-year-old Zerzevan Castle and to help them participate in the workforce, in social life and to stand on their own feet,” Erdoğan said.
“Three days a week, with trowels, pickaxes and shovels in their hands, they work to shed light on history. At what was once a Roman border garrison, they too are lighting a lamp for history,” he added.
“Important to reveal history through women’s hands”
Excavation head Professor Aytaç Coşkun noted that work at Zerzevan Castle has been continuing uninterrupted since 2014.
Under the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s “Heritage for the Future Project,” excavation and restoration works are now conducted throughout the year, he said.
“This year, for the first time, we are uncovering history with 35 women. We provided them with training before they began working at the site. It is important to reveal history through women’s hands,” Coşkun said.
He added that the women are working particularly in residential areas of the castle, which are significant as they housed both soldiers and civilians and are among the areas yielding the most findings.
The site welcomed 400,000 visitors last year and is expected to attract 700,000 this year, according to Coşkun, who also said efforts are ongoing for the castle’s inclusion on the permanent World Heritage List.
Helin Alan, one of the women participating in the excavations, said she had always seen the castle from her neighborhood but never imagined she would one day work there.
“I used to visit the castle occasionally. Now I work here three days a week and also earn an income. On the other four days, I prepare for the university entrance exam. I want to study archaeology. Protecting historical heritage is a beautiful feeling,” she said.
Another participant, Eylem Ata, said she felt excited to have the opportunity to work at a historic site in her own neighborhood.
“I had never worked before. Being able to work at the castle in our neighborhood gives me happiness and excitement,” she said.
