New Discoveries In Excavated Ancient Temple Linked To Secret Mithras Religion

AncientPages.com - During continuous excavations conducted in the area of ancient Zerzevan Castle, archaeologists found two new corridors in a 1,700-year-old Roman-era temple linked to the Mithras religion.

The Zerzevan Castle is located in southeastern Diyarbakır province,  southeastern Turkey.

It is worth noting that Diyarbakır province has long been home to many civilizations and the surrounding area of the province is rich in stone carvings and artifacts dated to Mesolithic era .

This part of Turkey is indeed historical place that experienced diverse rulers such as the Akkadins, Hurrians, Mittani, Medes, Hittites, Armenians, Neo-Babylonians, Achaemenids, Greeks, Romans, Parthia, Byzantium, Sassanids, Arabs, Seljuk Empire, Mongol Empire, Safavid dynasty, Marwanids, and Ayyubids.

The head of the excavations, assistant professor Aytaç Coşkun, a faculty member of the Department of Archaeology at Dicle University, said the corridors were discovered as underground passways to the Mithras temple, reports Daily Sabah

"This temple's rituals were conducted in secret and only people which met certain criteria were accepted to the religion," Coşkun said.

According to the findings, the followers of Mithras religion were a closed community because their religious ceremonies are completely secret and no information was leaked to outsiders. Archaeological excavations at the site revealed the existence of underground structures, among them a temple of Mithraism, a mystery religion.

"Their temples are usually built underground. There are three niches on the eastern part of the temple. A very thoroughly constructed one is in the water basin. There is also a pool. We believe water was very widely used in Mithras ceremonies and about 40 people attended ceremonies held here," Coşkun said.

With the arrival of Christianity, the religion of Mithras lost its importance and the recently discovered temple is from the peak times of this religion.

Zerzevan Castle (also known as Samachi Castle) consists of some ruins of Eastern Roman castle, a former important military base, in Diyarbakir Province, southeastern Turkey.

See also:

Sanctuary Of God Mithra And His Mysterious Religion Unearthed In Corsica

1,700-Year-Old Underground Temple Of Mithras Unearthed In East Anatolia, Turkey

More Archaeology News

The Zerzevan Castle is situated along the ancient route of military premises and located on a 124-meter-high rocky hill in a strategic location between Amida and Dara. The settlement overlooks the entire valley and once controlled a large area on a key, ancient trade path. Once a strategic Roman border garrison town, the castle also witnessed the clashes between Romans and Sassanians.

The first settlement was named "Samachi" and while it is not certain when it was built, the excavations are close to revealing its age. The castle walls were repaired at the time of Anastasios (491-518 A.D.) and Justinianos (527-565 A.D.) and some parts have been completely reconstructed.

There is a subterranean and an above ground city in the Zerzevan Castle. We discovered a secret subterranean passage that was closed 3,000 years ago, a subterranean church that was closed 1,500 years ago, a subterranean sanctuary capable of sheltering 400 people, and finally a Mithras temple.

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