7 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Excavations at Körzüt Castle unearth 2 cuneiform inscriptions and a new Urartian Susi temple

During the rescue excavations carried out at the Körzüt Castle in the Muradiye district of Van province in eastern Turkey, 2 cuneiform inscriptions and a 2800-year-old Urartian Susi temple were found. Susi Temple: A kind of temple found in Urartu, which is a square, single-chambered tower-like buildings.

Körzüt is the modern Turkish name for an Urartean fortress located on a rock spur at the southern end of the Muradiye/Berkri plain, approximately 3 km north of Uluşar, in the Muradiye district of Van province in Türkiye. According to an inscription of the Urartean King Minua (9th / 8th century BCE), the fortress was built by Minua.

Rescue excavations in Körzüt Castle were started on October 13, with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, under the scientific consultancy of Yüzüncü Yıl University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Archeology, Associate Professor Sabahattin Erdoğan.

Associate Professor Sabahattin Erdoğan stated that they started the 2023 Körzüt Castle rescue excavation on October 13 and said, “During our work, we identified an Urartian Temple that is approximately 2800 years old.

Photo: DHA

“This temple is a tower-type susi temple, which we call rizarit (buttress). Before starting the excavations, there was a citadel extending from north to south and a structure at the southern end. We observed two buttresses in the southeast and southwest, which we call ‘rizalit.’ These buttresses were part of the temple within the building. During further work, we initially identified a cuneiform block on the temple’s northern façade. This block bears an Urartian cuneiform inscription consisting of six rows. A second block with a cuneiform inscription was discovered. These inscriptions indicate the site’s significance as a temple.”



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Photo: DHA

Our work on the inscriptions continues. “Apart from this, maybe we will learn what the name of the castle was in the Urartu (ancient) period, thanks to these inscriptions,” he added.

Associate Professor Erdoğan explained that they had identified another temple similar to this Susi temple in the studies carried out in the same region last year, and said, ” Having more than one temple in a castle is not a very common understanding among the Urartians, in this respect, these structures are very important,”

Photo: DHA

Muradiye District Governor Melih Aydoğan said that rescue excavation work continues. District Governor Aydoğan said, “The authorities informed us that these inscriptions belong to the period of King Minua and describe a campaign,”.

The plastered mud bricks found at the site feature blue plaster typical of Urartian temples, and archaeologists speculate that mythological scenes carved in brown or black might be present on these blocks.

Related Articles

Glazed Bricks with Bull and Dragon Motifs Discovered at Persepolis

17 December 2021

17 December 2021

A team of Iranian and Italian archaeologists recently unearthed some glazed bricks bearing bull and dragon motifs in the ancient...

Ancient DNA Reveals Surprising Maternal Lineages at Neolithic Çatalhöyük

28 June 2025

28 June 2025

New research, utilizing ancient DNA analysis, is challenging long-held assumptions about kinship and societal structures in one of the world’s...

Construction Workers Discovered Ancient Sarcophagus in Turkey

2 March 2021

2 March 2021

On Monday, reports said that during excavations in the Seyitgazi region of Eskisehir Province in northwestern Turkey, municipal staff unexpectedly...

“Exceptionally rare” gold sword pommel given to Scottish national museums

24 October 2022

24 October 2022

An “exceptionally rare” solid gold sword pommel found by a metal detectorist near Blair Drummond, Stirling, has been acquired by...

Ancient settlements that challenge traditional thinking “Karahantepe and Taş Tepeler”

5 December 2021

5 December 2021

After Göbeklitepe in Şanlıurfa, which sheds light on 12,000 years ago in human history and is considered one of the...

Significant Archaeological Discovery on Failaka Island: Hellenistic Courtyard and Building Unearthed

17 February 2025

17 February 2025

The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) has announced a remarkable archaeological find on Failaka Island, revealing a...

New study: Humans engaged in large-scale warfare in Europe 5,000 years ago ‘1,000 years earlier than previously thought’

3 November 2023

3 November 2023

Hundreds of human remains unearthed from a burial site point to a  warfare between Stone Age people long before the...

The Ancient City of Miletos’s “Sacred Cave” Opened to Visitors

2 October 2021

2 October 2021

In the ancient city of Miletos, which had an important place in the advancement of philosophy, art, and science in...

Archaeologists Uncover Asini’s Hidden Ancient Port Beneath the Waves of Greece

11 March 2025

11 March 2025

An international team of underwater archaeologists has made a groundbreaking discovery at the submerged site of Asini, near Tolo in...

The Ancient City of Kilistra, Cappadocia of Konya’s

1 February 2021

1 February 2021

When we talk about fairy chimneys, churches and underground cities, the first place that comes to mind is Cappadocia between...

Dacian Treasure Discovered in Romania, Possibly Indicating a Hidden Settlement in Breaza

12 April 2025

12 April 2025

In the spring of 2025, an extraordinary archaeological discovery was made in the Breaza commune of Mureș County, Romania, when...

Using Algorithms, Researchers Reassemble Jewish Text Lost Centuries Ago

27 January 2022

27 January 2022

Using new technology, researchers were able to comb a 19th-century text for the original study of a Bible interpretation attributed...

Evidence of the oldest hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe discovered in Spanish Cave

29 September 2023

29 September 2023

A team of scientists has discovered and analyzed the first direct evidence of basketry among hunter-gatherer societies and early farmers...

Tombs of Queens of Commagene Detected

23 September 2021

23 September 2021

The graves built by Commagene King Mithritades II (36-21 BC) for his mother Isias, his sister Antiokhis, and Antiochis’s daughter...

Burials covered in red dye discovered in Serbian barrows

18 February 2022

18 February 2022

Polish archaeologists excavating two barrow mounds in Vojvodina, in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia, have uncovered the...