Surprise discovery in Diyarbakır: Mithraeum unearthed

Excavations continue at Zerzevan Castle, a 3,000-year-old Roman Empire garrison. With the discovery of the 1,900-year-old Mithraeum at the castle, which is one of the city's important tourism centers, the temple's main entrance gate has been reached.

The monumental entrance gate, where Mithraists entered the sacred area and held secret ceremonies, will help answer questions regarding the unearthed Mithraeum. According to archaeological data, it is believed that Mithraists, who are said to have traveled to the temple from all over the world, spent one night of the year in the temple.

Stating that many mysteries will come to light with the completion of the excavations within a year, Head of Excavations Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aytaç Coşkun expressed that the emergence of the structures will also provide answers to questions about the Mithraeum.

'IT WAS A ROMAN MILITARY SETTLEMENT'

Stating that Zerzevan Castle is one of the best-preserved garrisons in the world, Coşkun said, “Zerzevan Castle is a Roman military settlement. It is one of the best-preserved garrisons in the world. Excavations began in 2014 and are still ongoing.

Especially with the size of the Mithras sacred area, the castle suddenly received a large influx of visitors. Because it is one of the best-preserved and most recently discovered Mithras sites in the world,” he said.

'WE DISCOVERED A MONUMENTAL ENTRANCE GATE'

Stating that they have intensified their efforts to fully uncover the monumental main entrance gate discovered at the temple, Dr. Coşkun said, “We started our excavation work this year in this area. We recently discovered the monumental main entrance gate. We have now focused our efforts on uncovering the monumental entrance gate. This gate has a large structure. This gate is where the ceremonies first began. It is an important architectural structure where Mithraists entered the sacred area and where the ceremonies began. We will open this area.

Currently, work is being carried out in our second region, in the places where people from all over the world came, where mysterious rituals were performed, and where the Mithraists who performed these rituals stayed. We think they came here for one night of the year. These ceremonies are held in secrecy. In fact, the Mithras belief is the mystery of Rome.

All rituals are performed in secret and no information has ever been leaked. There is no written document about this. We can speak based on all our knowledge and archaeological data or legends. When Mithraists came from all over the ancient world, they did not stay inside the garrison, they stayed inside the sacred area. There are many spaces and residences inside the sacred area where they stayed. We plan to finish our work in these residences this year,” he stated.

'IT HOSTS 400 THOUSAND PEOPLE A YEAR'

Stating that the excavations in the area of the temple will be completed by 2024, Coşkun said, “We started our work in the sacred area this year. We aim to finish it completely next year.

Next year, a large part of both the above-ground and underground structures will have been unearthed. Of course, just as Zerzevan Castle sheds light on the history and belief systems of the region, it is also very important in terms of tourism in the region. It is a place visited by an average of 400 thousand people per year. An average of 30-35 tour buses come to Zerzevan every day.

For this reason, there will be a large increase in this number of visitors with the work here,” he said.