Archaeology of Armenia

A team of scientists has unearthed a Urartian monumental building complex in the eastern province of Van's Tuşba district, located within the historical castle known as Garibin Tepe.

Mehmet Işıklı, heading the excavation, expressed the team's astonishment at the findings, which included "pitos" (large storage containers) and exceptionally well-preserved mudbrick architecture.

Mehmet Kuşman, who has been a volunteer guard at a Urartian castle in the eastern province of Van and is one of the few people in the world who speaks the Urartian language, has said that he will quit his voluntary job in November.

Mehmet Kuşman, 82, who is one of only 12 people in the world who can speak, write and read the Urartian language, has said that he wants to keep the language alive with his eight-year-old granddaughter learning it.

Forty-five Urartian-era urns (the vessels in which the ashes of the dead were put) have been unearthed in the necropolis of Çavuştepe Castle, located in the Gürpınar district of the eastern province of Van.

The excavations initiated this year in the Çavuştepe Castle, built by the Urartian King Sarduri II, and the necropolis in its northern part, a tomb of a man, believed to have been belonged to an Urartian ruler and buried with his dog, four horses, cattle and sheep, has been found.

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A team of archaeologists has unearthed a castle dating back to the Urartian era in eastern Turkey.

The remains of the castle dating back 2,800 years ago were discovered during an excavation project sponsored by Van Yüzüncü Yıl University on a mountain at an altitude of 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) in the Gürpinar district of eastern Van province.

The Van Museum, built within the scope of the "centers of attraction support program," carried out by the Industry and Technology Ministry in the eastern province of Van, attracts the attention of visitors with 45,000 artifacts dating back to many civilizations as well as the Urartians and animation sections related to historical periods.

A 2,800-year-old bronze "princess belt," which belongs to the Urartian culture, will be exhibited at the İzmir Archaeology Museum for a month.

The İzmir Archeology Museum brings together 12 unique artifacts preserved in its warehouses within the scope of the "You Will See What You Don't See" project.

Preparations have begun for the 3,000-year-old Şamran Irrigation Channel, which was built during the Urartu Kingdom period and is considered a world water engineering wonder, in the eastern province of Van to be included on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

With the withdrawal of Lake Van, which is located in the province of Van's Erciş District, the ruins of a port from the Urartu era have come to light.

A distance of approximately 50 meters between the waters of Lake Van and the ruins of the old port has been reported.