25 September 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists have discovered a 2800-year-old Urartian Castle in eastern Turkey

Archaeologists discovered the ruins of a castle going back 2,800 years on a mountain 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level in the Gürpnar region of eastern Turkey’s Van province. According to their investigations, the fortress has been utilized by several cultures since the Urartians.

The remains were discovered during a Van Yüzüncü Yl University-sponsored excavation operation. The castle also found a massive cistern with a depth of 6.5 meters, a length of 6.5 meters, and a diameter of 2.5 meters, as well as walls and pottery objects.

“Although it is believed to be dated back to the Urartian era like the Van Castle, we see that it was mostly used in the Middle Ages,” Rafet Çavuşoğlu, the head of the excavation team and an archeology professor at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, told Anadolu Agency (AA).

“We understand from the ceramic pieces, the cistern and the city walls that this place was built about 2,800 years ago,” he said. He added that limestone rock and sandstone were used in the construction of the walls in the area.

Archaeologists examine the remains of the castle on the mountain. Photo: AA
Archaeologists examine the remains of the castle on the mountain. Photo: AA

The newly found castle will contribute to the historical richness of the district, Hayrullah Tanış, district mayor of Gürpınar, said. “In cooperation with Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, we made an important discovery here. We found a new castle witnessing the Urartian period and the Middle Ages. This discovery excites us in terms of tourism and culture,” Tanış added.

Remains of newly discovered castle walls.
Remains of newly discovered castle walls. Photo: AA

The Kingdom of Urartu

From the 9th century BCE, Urartu, also known as the Kingdom of Urartu or the Kingdom of Van, was a Bronze and Iron Age civilization that flourished in ancient Armenia, eastern Turkey, and northern Iran. The kingdom had a thriving arts and crafts industry, particularly metals, and used military strength and fortifications to control territory.

The kingdom vanished in the 6th century BCE after barely two centuries and was only identified as a unique and recognized ancient civilization by excavations carried out in the 19th century CE.

Urartu’ is derived from urashtu, the Assyrian word for the kingdom, and means “high location,” presumably referring to the region’s hilly terrain or the culture’s usual habit of fortifying rock promontories. The Babylonians called them uruatri, and the Hebrews called the kingdom Ararat. Biaina was the Urartians’ name, and Biainili was their state (or Land of the Nairi).

Tusba, also known as Thusba — a district of Van province today — was the capital of the Urartian kingdom in the 9th century BC.

Banner
Related Post

Largest ever Roman silver hoard in Germany found in Augsburg

12 November 2021

12 November 2021

Archaeologists in Augsburg, Germany, revealed unearthed a historical hoard including 15 kg of silver coins from the Roman Empire’s era....

İnscriptions in Turkey is Showing How Romans Tackled İnflation

21 March 2021

21 March 2021

The largest marble city in the world, located in western Turkey in the province of Muğla, draws attention with large...

The World’s oldest and first swords ever discovered

11 March 2023

11 March 2023

The 5,000-year-old swords found 43 years ago during the excavations in the old mud-brick palace structure in Malatya Arslantepe Mound...

Thousand-Year-Old Christian Viking-era Graves Found in Sweden

28 June 2021

28 June 2021

Seven Christian tombs dating to the Viking Age have been found at Sigtuna. According to archaeologists, the tombs date to...

Turkish Ancient Cemetery will be İntroduced to the World

25 March 2021

25 March 2021

We would not be exaggerating if we say that Ahlat, which is a naive district of Bitlis on the shore...

Artifacts for sale offered at a Dutch auction house returned to Peru

9 July 2021

9 July 2021

The Dutch government announced in a press release today that the artifacts that were put up for sale at an...

Roman girl adorned with 1800-year-old jewelry found in a lead coffin on Mount Scopus

9 April 2023

9 April 2023

“After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the exodus of the Jewish population, late Roman Jerusalem—renamed Aelia Capitolina—had a...

A 2,000-year-old wooden bridge that once linked England and Wales discovered

31 August 2023

31 August 2023

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of Roman and Anglo-Saxon fortifications in the town of Chepstow in the United Kingdom. Surprisingly, however,...

Multiple Burials found at Çatalhöyük

17 September 2021

17 September 2021

Multiple burials were unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the house on the eastern mound of the Neolithic settlement Çatalhöyük....

At Göbeklitepe, believed to be the earliest known Mesolithic temple complex, grinding stones were discovered

26 October 2022

26 October 2022

A recent discovery at Göbeklitepe, the oldest known Mesolithic temple complex, has revealed grinding stones, new finds expected to shed...

Peru finds perfectly preserved a wooden figure in the Americas’ largest mud-brick city

29 June 2022

29 June 2022

A perfectly preserved wooden figure has been discovered at the Chan Chan archaeological site, in northern Peru, the Ministry of...

Germany: 700-year-old Causeway Found Under Central Berlin Street

19 February 2022

19 February 2022

Archaeologists from the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin (LDA) made a sensational find during their excavation at Molkenmarkt: about 2.50 m below Stralauer...

An inscription written in both runic and Latin script on a church wall in Denmark turned out to be still a legally significant promissory note

31 May 2023

31 May 2023

An inscription in both runic and Latin script on a church wall in Denmark turned out to be legally valid...

Rich Votive Deposit Discovered in the Valley of the Temples of Agrigento

10 August 2023

10 August 2023

At least sixty terracotta figurines, female protomes, and busts, oil lamps, and small vases, a rich votive deposit of bronze...

Flint tools found in Tunel Wielki Cave, Poland, about half a million years old

9 October 2022

9 October 2022

Flint tools discovered over 50 years ago in the Tunel Wielki Cave (Maopolskie region) are not tens of thousands of...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *