One of the most amazing fortresses is located in Ardabil province, called the cannibal’s castle! Ardabilis call it the ancient Buyin Yugun fortress. Its architecture is astonishing!
Archaeologists have found artifacts in Buyni Yugun that date back to the Bronze Age and the middle history of Iran. So we are facing a fortress that shows signs of 4500 years. But the point is that this fortress is full of mystery, and no one knows precisely what it was built for. Whatever it is, Buyin Yugun is an interesting site for archeologists. It inspires them to discover its many hidden secrets, and mysteries that are not easy to find.
The beautiful province of Ardabil is full of ancient fortresses, like Qahqaheh, Si, Arshaq, Oltan, Gilvan and Yelsui fortresses. Each of these fortresses have their own attractive features that are each different in their construction, which can attract much research. But Buyni Yugun is the most unique and memorable of all!
A village called Kur Abbas Loo is situated in Nayyer district, Ardebil province, and the ancient Buyin Yugun fortress is located in this village. This fort was built on the highway that connects Ardabil to Miyaneh and Tabriz, maybe for military purposes. The Azari name “Buyin Yugun” means “powerful” and refers to the fortress imposing and frightful facade.
A stronghold with superstitions linked to it
There are quite a few baseless beliefs made up by the minds of passers-by about Buyin Yugun. First of all, people had spread rumors that Buyin Yugun is a cannibal’s fort. The natives would say that this fortress is cursed and whoever stepped inside had no return, and would suffer a terrible fate. Some would even spread that there are cannibals inside the fort, who eat strangers! There are still more superstitions about this fort. The root of all these superstitious beliefs is its appearance, which leads the human mind to fantasize. The evident sturdiness of the fort, discovery of dead skeletons, and its scary appearance has made Buyin Yugun a frightening fort. Especially since it is built upon huge rocks that make the fort look frightful. Especially the one that built Buyni Yugun on the stones of Setbari, which makes the fort look more terrifying than it is. The fortress walls are nearly 300 meters high, making entering the structure very difficult. So it is common for its visitors to lose their way. How is it possible to inside this fort and not lose your way!
The fort attributed to the cannibals is made of stone and mortar. The structures inside the fort are made of brick and clay. What is visible at first sight is the stone pond above the fortress. This same pond has given more wings to the imagination of the superstitious. They believe that the depth of the pond is invisible, and no one knows where it ends! In fact, the pond was built to act as a reservoir and supply drinking water to the residents. There are brooks that pour their water into this pond.
The Buyin Yugun pond proves that this fort was inhabited and that people had settled there in distant times. But who were the inhabitants? There is no answer for this. Maybe that they were soldiers or maybe they were common people. The remains of a stone mill can be seen in the southern part of the structure. This structure is another reason to consider the fortress as a structure in which life has flowed.
This fortress is believed to have been used mostly during the Parthian period. At a time when the warrior Parthians had bloody battles with the Romans, this fortress was a refuge for the Parthian cavalry and infantry. Even at that time (the Parthian period), the population of that area was large, and the width of the fortress and its surrounding structures was estimated to be 300 hectares.
Signs that the Buyin Yugun was inhabited continued upto the Safavid period, and show that the fort was an important stronghold for the Iranian army in the war with the Ottoman empire. With its high position and easy access to food and water for its residents, this fortress was the best structure warriors could use to defend the borders of Iran at that time. However, Buyin Yugun has revealed its secrets fully.
