Urartu palace unearthed

VAN - Anatolia News Agency

The earliest structures of the Urartu civilization have been found at Van Castle.

The first palace structure from the Urartu Kingdom has been found in excavations at the top of Van Castle in the eastern province of Van. The excavation work is headed by Professor Erkan Konyar from Istanbul University. The archaeological team has unearthed the earliest structures of the Urartu civilization, Konyar said, adding that they will continue excavating the palace and its surroundings to reveal other structures in the next years.

“Its architectural structure shows that the palace was built in the early Urartu period. In 1.5 months of work, the ruins of the palace have been unearthed to a depth of six meters underground. We hope to eventually excavate all of the public buildings of the Urartu civilization,” Konyar said.