Zerzevan Castle
Türkiye · Diyarbakır
In brief
Zerzevan, on the Diyarbakır-Mardin route, is one of Rome's military settlements. Excavations have uncovered the houses and water infrastructure of the walled settlement, as well as the underground rock-cut sanctuary of Mithras.
What was found?
- 1Rock-cut Mithraeum
This is a place of worship for Mithras carved underground into the bedrock. Its niches, traces of paint, and symbols are tangible remains of religious life in the garrison.
- 2Underground shelter
This is a rock-cut structure with ventilation openings and an entrance with a spiral staircase. According to researchers, it may have been used as a shelter during war and as a food store in peacetime.
- 3Underground church
This is one of the underground places of worship identified in the settlement. It is one of the architectural witnesses to the Christian period at the fortress.
- 4Water cisterns
These are water reservoirs carved into the bedrock. Dicle University’s presentation reports 63 cisterns; they document the arrangement that met the settlement’s water needs.
- 5Southern defensive and watchtower
This is one of the settlement’s defensive structures. It makes visible the fortress’s function of monitoring the surrounding roads and terrain.
What does it point to?
Zerzevan is a garrison settlement with houses, water reservoirs, and places of worship alongside defensive structures. The findings indicate that civilians lived here alongside soldiers.
What did it teach us?
- Documented the worship of Mithras in a Roman frontier settlement through architectural remains.
- Showed that garrison life also encompassed housing, water storage, and worship areas.
- Revealed the use of rock-cutting techniques in water reservoirs and underground spaces.
Images
Videos
Record
- Culture
- Roman and Byzantine
- First modern dig
- 2014
- Team / historical
- Dicle University Zerzevan Castle Excavation Directorate
- Coordinates
- 37.6084°, 40.4992°
Sources
- whc.unesco.org
- dicle.edu.tr
- Dicle Üniversitesi — Zerzevan Kalesi Kazısı
- Kültür Varlıklarını Koruma Bölge Kurulu — Yeraltı sığınağı tescil dosyası
Nearby excavations
- Çayönü 96 km
- Karahantepe 120 km
- Göbekli Tepe 146 km
- Nemrut Dağ 160 km
- Sayburç 175 km
- Arslantepe Mound 206 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
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