Ancient 11,000-Year-Old City Found at Bottom of Turkish Lake

Deep beneath the murky waters of an ancient lake in Turkey, mysterious ruins now sit at the bottom of history books as researchers believe they might reveal a forgotten city that rewrites our timeline. Divers have pulled back layers of sediment to uncover an enormous circular structure and a wall built from interlocking stone blocks resting 75 feet down in Lake Van.

Matthew LaCroix, part of the diving team, spoke to the Daily Mail about the sheer scale of what lies hidden beneath the surface. "What we know of the underwater ruins may just be a tiny piece of something much larger," he said. The findings suggest these structures are at least 11,700 years old, with geological estimates pushing the date back as far as 40,000 years based on eruptions that blocked the lake's ancient outlet and drowned the settlement.

The wall itself is a marvel of engineering featuring three steps leading up to the circular structure and seven levels of stonework rising more than eight feet from the lakebed. LaCroix measured over 150 feet along this causeway before it vanished into the dark water below. "Over 150 feet, and it leads into the darkness," he noted. He suspects this feature points toward additional buildings belonging to an undiscovered city concealed beneath the waves.

"You have a civilization that had the capabilities to build unbelievable stonework and temples," LaCroix added. This discovery shows that a lost chapter of human history created highly advanced things far beyond what iron and bronze cultures of today can match, placing its creation in a time period previously thought impossible.

Adding another layer to the mystery, Lake Van sits southwest of Mount Ararat and the Durupınar formation, which some traditions mark as the final resting place of Noah's Ark. The massive wall connects directly to the enormous circular structure found above it during these dives.

Lake Van is located in the far eastern part of Turkey within the Eastern Anatolia region, close to the border with Iran. The potential impact here is huge for communities that have lived near this site for generations, as finding a city dating back tens of thousands of years challenges our understanding of when humans first mastered stone construction. It forces a re-evaluation of our ancient past and suggests we may be looking at just the tip of an iceberg regarding human achievement in deep antiquity.

Roughly 90 miles from Mount Ararat, the mountain many believe holds Noah's Ark, lies Lake Van. This body of water covers about 1,450 square miles and stands as Turkey's largest lake. In 2017, underwater filmmaker Tahsin Ceylan found the first ruins while studying microbiolite formations and pearl mullet in the area. He stumbled upon a stone fortress flanked by circular temples built with precisely carved masonry. One capstone bore an engraving of a six-spoked 'Flower of Life' symbol, a motif used by numerous cultures for thousands of years.

Salin later teamed up with LaCroix for a dive in 2025. It was not until the footage was reviewed this year that the massive stone wall was spotted. Archaeologists confirm the structures exist, though many attribute them to the Urartian period around 3,000 years ago or even the medieval era. They have admitted the site has yet to be fully studied or definitively dated. Researcher Matthew LaCroix, who is part of the diving team, told the Daily Mail: 'What we know of the underwater ruins may just be a tiny piece of something much larger'.

Lake Van sits in the far eastern part of Turkey within the Eastern Anatolia region, close to the border with Iran. LaCroix noted that geological evidence told a different story than the traditional timeline. Scientists have long known Lake Van once drained westward through an outlet that was later blocked by a series of massive eruptions from Mount Nemrut during the Pleistocene. LaCroix discussed these findings on his podcast, explaining that the Pleistocene ended 11,700 years ago, but experts have suggested major eruptions may have occurred as far back as 40,000 years. 'That means the ruins were built before,' he added.

Exploring the site is difficult because Lake Van has no outlet, leaving dissolved sediment suspended throughout the water and sharply limiting visibility. The wall features three steps leading to the circular structure and seven levels of stonework rising more than eight feet from the lakebed. LaCroix said divers can generally see clearly only between approximately 5am and 11am before conditions deteriorate. 'You only have a tiny window to even explore,' he said. He also clarified that he did not descend to the wall 75 feet below the surface. Instead, he spent only eight minutes at the circular ruin in approximately 30 feet of water while other divers recorded the surrounding stonework. 'It's a perfect circle,' LaCroix said. 'When you dive down from above, it's a perfect circle.'

The two formations are separated by a considerable distance but lie within an underwater area that LaCroix said has been mapped across approximately one square kilometer. Scientists have long known the lake once had an outlet and was much smaller than it is today. This has led some researchers to suggest that an ancient civilization built a stunning city overlooking the lake. The diving team also found fortress-like ruins on the lakebed. The causeway was not noticed during the initial dive. LaCroix said it emerged months later, after videographer Brandon Barnes uploaded footage taken behind the circular structure. 'I'm like, oh my God, because they found something,' he recalled.

The video appeared to show three steps rising toward the circular monument, followed by seven courses of stonework and the lengthy structure extending away from it. LaCroix argued that the amount of labor involved makes it unlikely that the feature was constructed in isolation. 'It can't just go to nothing,' he said. 'There would have to be a major urban area that this was a nodal point that it went to.' He added: 'I have never been able to see it. It leads somewhere.

We just don't know where it leads." That is the honest admission from researchers staring into the dark water beneath Lake Van. Yet a major problem remains: no single stone from these ruins has ever been independently dated. Furthermore, no archaeological excavation has confirmed that these structures actually form a city. The proposed age range of between 11,700 and 40,000 years is LaCroix's interpretation of geological research into volcanic eruptions and shifting lake boundaries, not a direct date pulled from the masonry itself.

LaCroix insists the massive causeway leads to a destroyed metropolis wiped out by flood tens of thousands of years ago. Other scientists argue differently. They suggest at least some walls might be medieval, possibly reusing older blocks made by the Urartians who controlled this region roughly 3,000 years ago. Despite these doubts, LaCroix believes the still water protected whatever remains below. Structures that would have been damaged by currents elsewhere apparently survived here.

"It's like it's just sitting there, preserved, like waiting for humanity to discover it," he said. The scene sounds almost magical to him. But magic does not replace science. Further dives and detailed sonar mapping are required now. Underwater archaeologists must analyze the site carefully. Only then can we determine if the causeway is truly human-made. We also need answers on where the path leads and whether more structures hide in the darkness below.