Diyarbakir: Turkish archaeologists have uncovered a sophisticated 1,800-year-old water system dating back to the Roman era during ongoing excavations at the historic Zerzevan Castle in Diyarbakir province, southeastern Turkiye. The castle, estimated to be around 3,000 years old, sits atop a 124-meter-high rocky hill near the Demirolcek neighborhood in the Cinar district and is known for its military and historical significance.

According to Qatar News Agency, since its inclusion on UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List in 2020, excavation efforts at the site have been underway since 2014. Recently, archaeological teams successfully discovered a fully integrated water distribution network, according to the head of the excavation team, Professor Dr. Aytac Goshkon.

The castle was a highly populated military center since the Assyrian era, with the site featuring 63 water cisterns, among them a massive, vaulted cistern with a capacity of approximately 4,000 tons, highlighted Goshkon. He added that water was transported from three springs, now dried, through stone channels and aqueducts extending 8.5 km to reach the main cisterns.

The cutting-edge discovery is a kind of water distribution system inside the castle which has been garnering researchers' interest for years, as water was pumped from the cisterns to buildings, homes, and even the Mithraic temple through a network of terracotta pipes, clearly demonstrating the use of hydraulic pressure technology during that era, he said. This discovery demonstrates the significance of the castle as an advanced water engineering model in the Roman era, as well as a historic landmark that combines military and religious structures with sophisticated infrastructure.