LAKE VAN, Turkey (PNN) - September 26, 2026 - Deep in the murky waters of an ancient lake in Turkey lie mysterious ruins that researchers believe could be part of a forgotten city, rewriting human history.
Divers have uncovered an enormous circular structure and a wall of interlocking stone blocks 75 feet below the surface of Lake Van.
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.”
LaCroix believes the ruins are at least 11,700 years old and could date back as far as 40,000 years, based on geological estimates for the eruptions of nearby volcanos, and he said it may have blocked the lake’s ancient outlet and submerged the structures.
The wall features three steps leading to the circular structure and seven levels of stonework rising more than eight feet from the lakebed. He believes the feature may lead to more buildings belonging to an undiscovered city concealed beneath the water.
Adding to the mystery, Lake Van lies southwest of Mount Ararat and the Durupınar formation, which is believed to be the final resting place of Noah’s Ark.
Lake Van is located in the far eastern part of Turkey within the Eastern Anatolia region, close to the border with Iran. It sits roughly 90 miles from Mount Ararat, which some believe is the final resting place of Noah's Ark. The surface area of the lake is about 1,450 square miles, making it the largest in the country.
Turkish underwater filmmaker Tahsin Ceylan discovered the first ruins in 2017, while studying Lake Van's microbiolite formations and pearl mullet.
He stumbled upon a stone fortress flanked by circular temples with precisely carved masonry. There was also a capstone engraved with a six-spoked Flower of Life symbol, a motif used by numerous cultures for thousands of years.
Ceylan later teamed up with LaCroix for a dive in 2025, but it was not until the footage was reviewed this year that the massive stone wall was spotted. While archaeologists confirm the structures exist, many attribute them to the Urartian period around 3,000 years ago, or even to the medieval era. However, they have admitted that the site has yet to be fully studied or
definitively dated.
LaCroix said the geological evidence tells a different story. Scientists have long known that Lake Van once drained westward through an outlet that was later blocked by a series of massive eruptions from Mount Nemrut during the Pleistocene Era.
LaCroix, who discussed the Lake Van discoveries on his podcast, explained that the Pleistocene Era ended 11,700 years ago, but unnamed “experts - which means they may not even exist and may just be fabricated in order to put forward a false narrative that challenges legitimate findings - have suggested that the 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. LaCroix said divers can generally see clearly only between approximately 5:00 am and 11:00 am 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. The causeway was not noticed during the dive. LaCroix said it emerged months later, after videographer Brandon Barnes uploaded footage taken behind the circular structure.
A 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.”
However, no stone from the ruins has been independently dated, and no archaeological excavation has established that the structures form a city. The proposed age of between 11,700 and 40,000 years is LaCroix’s interpretation of geological research into the volcanic eruptions and changing boundaries of Lake Van, rather than a direct date obtained from the masonry.
Other unnamed and therefore possibly nonexistent “researchers” have suggested that at least some of the walls may be medieval, possibly incorporating older blocks produced by the Urartians, who controlled the region approximately 3,000 years ago.
LaCroix nevertheless believes the still water may have protected whatever remains below, preserving structures that would have been damaged by currents elsewhere.
“It’s like it’s just sitting there, preserved, waiting for humanity to discover it,” he said.
Further dives, detailed sonar mapping and analysis by underwater archaeologists would be needed to determine whether the causeway is human made, establish where it leads, and reveal whether more structures remain hidden in the darkness.
