Van Fortress
Van Fortress is standing on a steep hill on the eastern side of Van Lake in modern-day Turkey. It used to be the seat of the Urartian kings that ruled over the region in the beginnings of the first millennium BCE. The fortress is one of the largest castles in Anatolia.
The oldest traces of human activity near Van were found at Tilkitepe mound, one of the first excavated mounds in Turkey. The site, located along the shores of Lake Van and a few kilometres to the south of the citadel of Van, is the only known source of information about the oldest cultures of Van predating the founding of Tushpa, the 9th-century BCE capital of Urartu.
The fortress was erected on the steep-sided bluff from two main kinds of construction materials. Its lower walls were built of unmortared basalt and the upper sections of the walls - from mud-brick..
The castle, sitting on a natural fortress, was also protected by two deep trenches, cut into the rock of the ridge. The imposing walls of the citadel were built on stepped rock terraces, characteristic to Urartian architecture. Urartian builders preferred to erect the foundations directly on the bedrock, as thus they created these stepped structures. They also levelled the ground and formed flat surfaces at various parts of the citadel where the buildings with many functions must have stood. The large blocks of the lower courses date back to the times of Urartu, but mud-brick and stone upper courses were added later, in the Ottoman times. The architecture of the citadel was not limited to these fortifications but also included many other buildings and structures, such as rock burial chambers for the kings, open-air sanctuaries, inscriptions on the rocks and inscribed stelae. Unfortunately, little has been preserved of the actual buildings that the Urartians constructed within the walls.
The southern face of Van Fortress hill houses eight tombs cut into the rock. Four of them are multichambered tombs dated to the Urartian period.. The largest of the tombs belongs to King Argisti I. Outside, the inscription known as the Annals of Argisti can be seen. In two cases, the tombs can be accessed by long staircases cut in the rock. The multi-chambered tombs have a platform in front of the entrance, a central hall, accessed by the steps, and several adjoining rooms. The rooms reach up to 9 meters in height and cover the area of two hundred square meters.
A rock terrace, situated on the northern slope of the hill, is known locally as Mother with Daughter (Analı Kız), because of two niches that it accommodates. It was built by King Sarduri II, and most probably served as a sacred area. The researchers have identified a sizeable grooved channel running down the slope from the platform situated in front of these niches. It presumably carried away the blood of sacrifices performed there. The niches are over 5 meters high and have rounded tops. The Annals of Sarduri II can also be seen there, carved onto a basalt stele.
Van Fortress
Van Fortress is standing on a steep hill on the eastern side of Van Lake in modern-day Turkey. It used to be the seat of the Urartian kings that ruled over the region in the beginnings of the first millennium BCE. The fortress is one of the largest castles in Anatolia.
The oldest traces of human activity near Van were found at Tilkitepe mound, one of the first excavated mounds in Turkey. The site, located along the shores of Lake Van and a few kilometres to the south of the citadel of Van, is the only known source of information about the oldest cultures of Van predating the founding of Tushpa, the 9th-century BCE capital of Urartu.
The fortress was erected on the steep-sided bluff from two main kinds of construction materials. Its lower walls were built of unmortared basalt and the upper sections of the walls - from mud-brick..
The castle, sitting on a natural fortress, was also protected by two deep trenches, cut into the rock of the ridge. The imposing walls of the citadel were built on stepped rock terraces, characteristic to Urartian architecture. Urartian builders preferred to erect the foundations directly on the bedrock, as thus they created these stepped structures. They also levelled the ground and formed flat surfaces at various parts of the citadel where the buildings with many functions must have stood. The large blocks of the lower courses date back to the times of Urartu, but mud-brick and stone upper courses were added later, in the Ottoman times. The architecture of the citadel was not limited to these fortifications but also included many other buildings and structures, such as rock burial chambers for the kings, open-air sanctuaries, inscriptions on the rocks and inscribed stelae. Unfortunately, little has been preserved of the actual buildings that the Urartians constructed within the walls.
The southern face of Van Fortress hill houses eight tombs cut into the rock. Four of them are multichambered tombs dated to the Urartian period.. The largest of the tombs belongs to King Argisti I. Outside, the inscription known as the Annals of Argisti can be seen. In two cases, the tombs can be accessed by long staircases cut in the rock. The multi-chambered tombs have a platform in front of the entrance, a central hall, accessed by the steps, and several adjoining rooms. The rooms reach up to 9 meters in height and cover the area of two hundred square meters.
A rock terrace, situated on the northern slope of the hill, is known locally as Mother with Daughter (Analı Kız), because of two niches that it accommodates. It was built by King Sarduri II, and most probably served as a sacred area. The researchers have identified a sizeable grooved channel running down the slope from the platform situated in front of these niches. It presumably carried away the blood of sacrifices performed there. The niches are over 5 meters high and have rounded tops. The Annals of Sarduri II can also be seen there, carved onto a basalt stele.