Anatolia, particularly the east, is incredibly rich in terms of historical ruins, and the latest to be added to the list of archaeological excitements from numerous civilizations of long ago, has come out of Van as excavations revealed the second temple built by Urartian King Menua, of eighth century B.C., among the ruins of Körzüt Castle.
This year's excavations at the Urartian castle's site in Van's Muradiye revealed the second temple of King Menua as well as a chamber tomb.
In the castle, which was built by the Urartian King Menua on the rocky area of Uluşar neighborhood of Muradiye, important findings were reached during the excavations carried out by the Van Museum with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The archaeological excavations, supported by the Muradiye District Governorship and Municipality and led under the scientific consultancy of Sabahattin Erdoğan, associate professor at the Department of Archeology of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University's (YYÜ) Faculty of Letters, had started two months ago. During the excavations, a second temple without rizalite, or corner protrusions, the remains of a masonry chamber tomb built with the technique of corbelling, as well as pottery fragments and metal artifacts were discovered.
Excavations have finished for the time being with the weather conditions becoming unyielding, but will continue next year.
Erdoğan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they came across important findings in the area where the castle ruins are located that will shed light on the history of the region. He noted that the finds were from different periods and stated that they had discovered a surprise second temple in the area where the first one was unearthed a while ago.
Erdoğan said that they stopped the excavations with the onset of winter.
"During the excavations, we unearthed the second temple, which we think was built by King Menua. We came across an important tomb right next to it. A large number of Urartian pottery was unearthed in the area. This is an important place for excavations. There is pottery from the Middle Ages. Then, there is the necropolis just outside the castle, which we consider very important," Erdoğan said.
"We encountered various types of tombs here. The most important of these are stone-masonry tombs... Along with many ceramics from the Urartian period, there are pottery findings, metal artifacts and the possessions of dead people (in the excavation site)."
