26 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

“Urartian Royal garbage dump” was found during excavations at Ayanis Castle

During the excavations carried out in the Ayanis Castle, which was built by the Urartian King Rusa II on the hill overlooking Lake Van, a new area used as a “garbage dump” by the royal family in the Urartians was unearthed.

Excavation and restoration work has been carried out for 34 years in the castle, which is located in the Tusba district of Van and is one of the most magnificent structures of the Urartian Kingdom.

The excavations carried out under the chairmanship of Atatürk University Archeology Department Lecturer Professor Mehmet Işıklı were concentrated on the northern slope of the castle this year.

In the studies, a new area used as a garbage dump by the royal family in the Urartians was identified. In the excavations carried out here, seals, bulla (seal stamps), hooks, ceramic pieces, and numerous ovine and bovine animal bones used by the nobles of the Urartians were found.

Photo: AA

The findings, which will be analyzed in the laboratory environment, are expected to give important clues about the economic and social life of the royal family in the Urartians, especially the nutritional conditions.

We were very excited by the finds

Professor Mehmet Işıklı told the Anadolu Agency (AA) that excavations have been carried out in the castle for 34 years with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Photo: AA

Explaining that this year the works were carried out in an important area, Işıklı said:

“We came across a surprise find around the castle. We saw very rich cultural deposits flowing down the walls. For archaeologists, this is a treasure. We found thousands of animal bones, objects that lost their function, written documents, and seals in this cultural deposit. We were very excited by the finds. In the researchs, we saw that this place is a dump. We tried to speed up the excavations. We collect the animal bones found here one by one and periodically separate them.

We are trying to reveal how the royal family was fed and what they consumed in which periods. In other words, we are trying to understand the human dimension of the Urartians. We know that the royal family, the nobility, and the elite lived in the castle. We are digging the garbage left by those elites. We try to learn about their lives down to the smallest detail and to catch clues,”

Ayanis castle. Photo: AA

“For the first time, we excavate an area of a garbage dump in the Urartians”

Vedat Sezer, a doctoral student working on zooarchaeology, said: “Most of the bones belong to big and small animals. Some bones belong to migratory and aquatic birds. There are many traces of butchery and consumption on the bones. Seal impressions, bulla, and hooks, which have lost their function, were also thrown out of the wall. The most surprising ones were the seal impressions. The Urartians were spread over a wide geography. Many animal bones were found before. These were usually found in warehouses. We are excavating a garbage dump in the Urartians for the first time,” he said.

Related Articles

Ancient Ruins Hidden Under Thessaloniki Metro Revealed

15 January 2023

15 January 2023

The finds unearthed during the construction of local metro facilities in Thessaloniki, a Greek port city on the Thermaic Gulf...

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...

Iron Age Ingenuity: Unique Dacian Stonemasons’ Tools Discovered in Romania

10 May 2025

10 May 2025

An extraordinary discovery in a Romanian forest near the hill of Măgura Călanului has unveiled a unique set of 15...

A Scandinavian Roman gladiator in York: Research Reveals Unknown Migrations Before the Viking Age

7 January 2025

7 January 2025

Scandinavian genes were present on the British Isles several centuries earlier than previously thought, including evidence from a man buried...

Kent Archaeological Society purchased an Anglo-Saxon hoard ahead of a London auction

1 November 2022

1 November 2022

The Kent Archaeological Society has bought a large collection of Anglo-Saxon artifacts from the sixth and seventh centuries known as...

30 Graves Found in the Basilica-Planned Ancient City

4 April 2021

4 April 2021

Kibyra ancient city is situated south of Turkey, located in the town Gölhisar in the southwestern part of Burdur Province,...

Folded Gold Diadem discovered in Ancient Burial Urn in Southern India

12 August 2022

12 August 2022

A gold diadem, bronze, iron objects, and pottery were reportedly found in a burial urn at the archaeological site of...

İnkaya Cave excavations in Türkiye’s western uncovers 86,000-year-old traces of human life

22 August 2023

22 August 2023

In the excavations carried out in the İnkaya Cave in Çanakkale, located in the northwestern part of Türkiye, in addition...

A New Picene Prince Tomb Dating to the 7th Century BC with Two Chariots Discovered in Corinaldo, Italy

29 July 2024

29 July 2024

Following the discovery of the so-called ‘Prince of Corinaldo’ in 2018, archaeologists from the University of Bologna have discovered a...

New Study: Middle Paleolithic Human Diet was More Diverse than Previously Thought

30 November 2023

30 November 2023

In a newly published study, archaeologists from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at the University of Tübingen...

Mustatil Structures in Arabia May Be 7,000-Year-Old Stone Remnants of Cattle Cult

1 May 2021

1 May 2021

Archaeologists examining the mustatil stone remains in the northwest of Arabia think that these stone remains may have been used...

New Discoveries of Sanxingdui Ancient City to be Announced

19 March 2021

19 March 2021

Sanxingdui, which literally means “Stacks of Three Stars”, is a cultural relic of the Kingdom of Shu in ancient China....

134 ancient settlements discovered north of Hadrian’s Wall

26 May 2022

26 May 2022

134 ancient settlements have been found during a survey of the region north of Hadrian’s Wall in the United Kingdom....

Ancient Tomb of Nomadic Horse Lord Yields Untouched Treasures and Weapons

2 May 2025

2 May 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery near Grozny has unearthed an undisturbed Alanian tomb dating back over two millennia, revealing a wealth...

2,000 Bronze Statue Fragments Found in Ancient Scrap Yard

20 January 2025

20 January 2025

Archaeologists in Izmir, Turkey have made an extraordinary discovery in the ancient city of Metropolis: Approximately 2,000 bronze statue fragments...