Roman-era castle destroyed by earthquake

The devastation wrought by Monday's deadly earthquake successful south-eastern Turkey included the astir full demolition of a 2,000-year-old castle built during the Roman Empire.

Footage obtained by the BBC showed terrible harm astatine the hilltop Gaziantep Castle, successful the centre of the city.

It was built successful the 2nd and 3rd Centuries, earlier becoming a museum.

Two plus-7 magnitude quakes deed the portion connected Monday, sidesplitting much than 2,000 radical successful Turkey and Syria.

A video obtained and verified by the BBC showed Gaziantep Castle successful ruins, with galore of its walls collapsed and breached into pieces connected the streets below.

Some of the fortifications successful the "east, southbound and south-east" of the castle had been destroyed by the earthquake, Turkish state-run quality bureau Anadolu has been reported arsenic saying, adding that "debris was scattered connected the road".

Parts of the adjacent Sirvani Mosque were besides destroyed, reports said.

The castle was built by the Romans during the 2nd and 3rd centuries, past strengthened and expanded by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I successful the 6th Century.

It besides saw changes made during the reign of the Ayyubids successful the 12th and 13th Centuries, arsenic good arsenic the Ottoman Empire, and played an important relation during Turkey's warfare of independency of the aboriginal 20th Century.

Until precocious it served arsenic the Gaziantep Defence and Heroism Panoramic Museum.

Hours aft the archetypal earthquake, a 2nd quake, with a magnitude of 7.5, deed the Elbistan territory of Kahramanmaras province.

Seismologists person said the archetypal earthquake was 1 of the largest ever recorded successful Turkey.

Hundreds of buildings person collapsed successful some Turkey and Syria, with rescuers moving to prevention radical trapped beneath the rubble.

Shocking images amusement buildings that were 4 oregon 5 storeys precocious flattened, roads destroyed and mountains of rubble.