1,800-year-old heating system discovered in Diyarbakır

DİYARBAKIR

As part of excavations carried out in Amida Mound, located in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır’s Sur district, 1,800-year-old water canals and heating systems have been unearthed.

Dubbed the “heart of Diyarbakır,” the Amida Mound was home to many civilizations from Urartians to Romans.
The excavations in the ancient area are being carried out by dozens of experts and archeologists and are taking place where Muslim polymath al-Jazari was conducting his scientific works.

The head of the excavations, Prof. Dr. İrfan Yıldız told state-run Anadolu Agency that the Amida Mound is the heart of both Diyarbakır and Mesopotamia.

Underlining that it is one of the most important ancient settlements in Diyarbakır, Yıldız also said that the mound was a place where both the city and the region was being administered from.

“Normally the secret tunnel in Amida Mound is both an escape tunnel and the tunnel that opens to the water source. The İçkale water source was included in the tunnel during the Roman era,” he said.

“The water in that tunnel was thrown up both during the Roman era and after with the system al-Jazari developed,” he added.

Yıldız also said stone canals, established in A.D. 200, which helped distribute the water to the pool and to other places have also been unearthed.

“Evidence has emerged, which show that there are canals carrying the hot water in the [Turkish] baths being carried to the settlements. They used bricks in the canals for the water not to lose its temperature” he added.