Mithras Temple
Mithras Temple is a temple located in Zerzevan Castle in the Cinar district of Diyarbakir.
It was built by carving the bedrock underground just north of the shelter. It belongs to the religion of Mithras, which became very common especially among the soldiers in the Roman Empire in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, and lost its importance with the spread of Christianity in the 4th century AD. This temple, one of the two Mithras temples in Anatolia (the other in Antep), was discovered by chance at Zerzevan Kales in 2017. It is estimated to be 1800 years old.
It is 7 meters long, 5 meters wide and 2.5 meters high. On the eastern wall of the building, there are columns carved into the bedrock and a large niche in the middle and two small niches on the sides. Paint residues can be observed on the belt rising from two columns around the large niche in the middle.
The ray crown motif on the east wall has also been preserved until today. There is a well-carved water bowl in one of the small niches and a pool on the floor of the building right in front of it. In addition, there are four animal tying places made symmetrically on the ceiling. Inscriptions and symbols are clearly visible on the entrance door of the building.
In 2018, two corridors for ritual purposes were found opening to the temple.
