Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Oct 7 2014
Excavations shed light on Urartian’s social life
VAN – Anadolu Agency
This year’s works in the north part of the Van Castle have revealed
important data on social and cultural life of Urartian people. A trade
mandate is among the interesting findings in the excavation
The excavations that have been continuing for five years in the
tumulus located in the northern side of the Van Castle have unearthed
objects that shed light on social and cultural life of the Urartians.
Among the most interesting findings is trade tablet detailing
commercial information.
Istanbul University Van Region History and Archaeology Center Deputy
Director Assistant Professor Erkan Konyar is the head of the
centuries-old excavation field, where 35 academics are working.
The patterns of chariots that were produced 3,000 years ago in the
Urartian Kingdom, rare pots and pans from the 15th and 16th centuries,
a 5,000-year-old portable oven and 2,700-year-old jewelry have been so
far unearthed in the tumulus. Bronze fibulas, a trade mandate and
civic settlements of the Urartian public are among this season’s
discoveries, according to Konyar.
He said that during this season’s works, Urartian houses were found in
civic settlements and their architecture structure showed that the
houses belonged to the people who were working to meet the needs of
the royal people living in the citadels.
“Most of the findings have civic characters. Among the most important
findings of this year is a tablet of mandate, which has commercial
content. It is about products that were dispatched from here. It is
very important to understand commercial relations. Maybe this place
was the house of a clerk, and kiln tablets had been written here. It
is now being scientifically examined,” he said.
Konyar said most of the excavations on the Urartian era were carried
out in castles and revealed the life style of the king. “Not much is
known about the civic life in the Urartian era. This is why the
excavations in the tumulus are very important.”
He added that inside the Urartian people’s houses they had found ovens
and foodstuffs. “We see that the traditional house culture in Van also
existed in the Urartian era. We see the reflections of the Urartians
today. Ovens and cellars, which are seen in Van houses today, are also
seen in the Urartian houses. Houses do not have a certain order. They
were arranged to meet the needs of the people living there. Their
architecture is different. This is why further excavations are very
important. It was also a surprise for us that the houses were
preserved well. Walls still survive. The tumulus will provide us very
important data to determine the history of the city,” Konyar said.
October/07/2014
From: A. Papazian