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Newly discovered walls at Garibin Tepe, where Urartian-era structures and lion sculptures were previously unearthed, have excited archaeologists conducting excavations at the ancient site in Van's Tusba district.
Archaeological excavations continued this year at Garibin Tepe, located 30 kilometers (18.64 miles) from the city center and three kilometers from Ayanis Castle, where excavations have been conducted for 38 years.
The dig is led by Professor Mehmet Isikli, a faculty member of the Ataturk University Faculty of Letters Archaeology Department, with permission from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Walls were uncovered at two separate points in work concentrated south of the area where Urartian-era structures were found six to seven meters underground, detected during unauthorized digging in 2022.
The walls, discovered near the location where lion sculptures were found last year in the area secured by provincial gendarmerie command teams, are expected to provide important information about the settlement's characteristics.
Isikli told the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) that excavation and conservation work continue at Garibin Tepe, which was discovered during illegal digging.
Recalling that last year's excavations uncovered "wall paintings from the Urartian period that have never been found anywhere else in the world and are very well preserved," Isikli said, "This place consists of two areas called north and south hills. On the north hill, we uncovered the spaces with wall paintings, monumental mud-brick architecture, and areas with 20 giant storage pithoi (large earthenware jars)."
"A large tent will be built over this area. Everything is complete, and construction will begin next week. Excavation will continue under the tent because the wall paintings are very delicate and need to be protected. We can't leave them in the open air," he noted.
Noting that they encountered lion sculptures unprecedented in Urartian art last year, Isikli said: "There are massive walls surrounding the hills where the sculptures were found. We started opening the walls to understand what they are. As a result of the walls we opened, we will try to understand the settlement's characteristics, that is, whether it is a fortress or an area used for another purpose. They could be terrace walls carrying large monumental, religious and royal spaces or strong fortifications surrounding the area from end to end."
"It caused great excitement and curiosity in the archaeology world and among culture and art lovers in the region. We are also curious," he noted.
"Garibin Tepe is giving us very big surprises. With the wall paintings at the forefront, it is an interesting place with monumental sculptures, interesting texture and location," Isikli added.
Expressing that they are trying to understand why such a massive investment was made during the Urartian period, Isikli said, "From here you can very easily see Van Castle and Lake Van.
It's not very far from the capital, but we don't know why such a large artistic investment was made. We are talking about a very large royal investment with large pithoi, lion sculptures and massive wall decorations."
"We don't know why two settlement areas were built this close to Ayanis Castle. This place still maintains its mystery. That's why we attach great importance to here. With the excavation work, we will continue to gradually solve the mystery here," he concluded.
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