Urartu

During archaeological excavations in Van's Tuşba district, a basalt stone statue weighing nearly one ton, dating back to the Urartian period, was uncovered in an area that was subjected to a rescue excavation last year.

Excavations at Ayanis Castle in Türkiye's Eastern Anatolian province of Van have yielded fresh archaeological discoveries, including three bronze shields and a helmet dating back 2,700 years.

The artifacts were uncovered during this year's leg of a 36-year excavation led by Mehmet Işıklı of Atatürk University's Archaeology Department.

Traces of a settlement dating back about 6,000 years have been found during excavations at Değirmenler Mound in the eastern province of Erzurum.

Starting on July 1, the two-month excavation in the area has uncovered settlement layers, human and animal bones, and ceramics, which are being analyzed.

Erzurum Museum has unveiled 175 artifacts, many of which have never been displayed before, including jewelry dating back 3,500 years, in an exhibition offering a window into various civilizations that lived in the region.

The exhibition is part of a broader effort by the Erzurum Museum Directorate to display more than 20,000 artifacts currently stored in its collection.

The Urartian-era bronze, copper and silver artifacts, rescued from smugglers in the eastern province of Ağrı, are exhibited at the Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum.

The Urartian artifacts seized in an operation conducted by Ağrı Police Department teams in 2015, were later delivered to the Kars Archaeology and Ethnography Museum.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced that more than 3,000 artifacts were returned to the country in 2023 within the scope of the works.

Archaeological excavations continue in the ancient city of Satala, the only surviving castle on the eastern border of the Roman Empire and the only Roman Legion castle in Anatolia that can be excavated.

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.

Military tombstones, milestones, inscriptions and war equipment that have been found during the excavations in the ancient city of Satala, where the Roman 15th Legion ruled for 600 years and served as a military headquarters in the northern province of Gümüşhane, are on display for the first time.

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.