Archaeologists discover 2,800-year-old 'burial jars' in
Turkey... but what gruesome find lies inside?
By Sam Matthew for MailOnline
dailymail.co.uk - 8/9/2015
Historians believe they have found Kingdom of Uratu tombs in Turkey Discovery of
pithos burial chambers made in the historic area of Vans
The Kingdom of Uratu ruled Turkey from mid-ninth century BC
Using just a small hand trowel these archaeologists are painstakingly working to unlock the
secrets of an ancient kingdom.
Historians believe they have unearthed tombs dating back over 2,800 years in Van, eastern
Turkey.
The pithos burial chambers, which are like large ceramic jars, are thought to be from the
Kingdom of Uratu, which ruled the country from the mid-ninth century BC until its defeat by the
Medes.
Painstaking: Archaeologists believe these 2,800-year-old pithos tombs from the Kingdom of Uratu
Historians at work in the Turkish town of Vans, which was the capital of the Urartian Kingdom
Vans was the capital of the Urartian Kingdom until it fell early in the sixth century BC.
Every summer a team of around 50 archaeologists take part in an annual excavation at Van
Fortress in a bid to uncover treasures that have been buried for thousands of years.
With permission from the country's Ministry of Culture and Tourism university teams have been
working together.
They are currently working at the top of the fortress, where a palace was located, and the
northern quarter.
'Our work is aimed at repairing and further protecting Old Van City,' Dr Erkan Konyar from
Istanbul University said according to Todays Zaman.
'We are carrying out work to protect the areas that we have worked on in previous years. '
Just 38km from Van excavation work is also taking place at a Uratu Castle. This year they
discovered part of the walls.
Head of Excavation Doç. Dr. Mehmet Işıklı, told Hurriyet Daily News: 'This made us very
excited, as even though these walls witnessed great earthquakes, their architecture remained
quite robust and unchanged
The pithos tombs, which are like large ceramic jars. Pictured:
An archaeologist working to uncover the resting place
The ancient site where the pithos tombs were discovered thought to be from the Kingdom of
Uratu, which ruled from the country from the mid-ninth century BC
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3224455/Unearthed-2-800-years-Turkisharchaeologists-Kingdom-Uratu-pithos-tombs-painstaking-excavation.html#ixzz3l9oxpHs4
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