Unearthing the Mystery of Naryn- Kala

Derbent is claimed to be the oldest city in Russia that dates back to the 8th century BCE. It is located on the Caspian Sea, the north of Azerbaijani Border, and is the southernmost city in Russia renowned for its medieval Fortress, Naryn-Kala. Naryn-Kala is also a UNESCO world Heritage site.
Derbent was both traditionally and historically an Iranian city. Though Derbent was inhibited since the 8th century BCE, it was the Shah Yazdegerd II of the Persian Sasanian Empire who founded Derbent in 438 CE built it into a fortress city in order to curb the constant raids from the White Huns, Khazars and other nomadic tribes of Central Asia who constantly threatened the Persian Heartland. The imposing walls of Naryn-Kala kept it safe and it withstood numerous attacks for the next 300 years. However, Derbent evolved and prospered not just under the Persian rule but due to its strategic location on the Silk route and its geostrategic importance as the gateway to the Caucasus.
Under the Arab rule the Derbent flourished as the entry point to the silk route and to keep it safe the Arabs too constantly reinforced Derbent’s walls and the citadel till the late 10th CE and also constructed the Juma Mosque which happens to be the oldest mosque in Russia. The mosque was built over the remains of an old Christian basilica.
Over a period of seven centuries Derbent prospered and changed hands from the Arabs to the Turks, to Azeris, the Mongols, the Timurids and back again to the Persian until they were defeated by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Torches during the Ottoman- Safavid War.
There were also Jews, Georgians and Armenians who came and settled in Derbent giving the city a very cosmopolitan flavor during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era.
Recently archeologists have unearthed and are probing the mysterious structure that was discovered buried in the northwestern part of the fortress of Naryn-Kala. It is a cross shaped structure which has been measured to be 36-foot-deep and is completely hidden underground but for the half destroyed dome on top.
As the structure is protected and cannot be excavated it is assumed that this structure could either have been some kind of a reservoir, a Christian church or a Zoroastrian fire temple. Using the method of muon radiography of the underground space the scientist have preliminarily concluded and according to the hypothesis of the archaeologists the building seems more likely to be that of a Christian Temple. If this gets confirmed than this building would be one of the oldest churches of the world.

By: Madhuchanda Saxena
Content: https://www.livescience.com/65967-oldest-church-world-cosmic-rays.html