Urartu Castle walls unearthed in TurkeyJuly 31, 2015 - 12:37 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - After 2,700 years the walls of Urartu Castle have been unearthed in the Ayanis neighborhood of the eastern province of Van in Turkey, Asbarez reports. Excavations at the Urartu Castle site, situated 24 miles from Van, have been ongoing for 25 years. After the discovery of the temple, this year the walls, a defining part of the castle, have been unearthed. Some 25 years after its construction, the castle was damaged by an earthquake and fire, which was followed by the dismantlement of the adobes. The castle was later closed, head of the excavation team Dr. Mehmet Isikli said. “Excavations at the castle have been going on for years. We have regained many important artifacts for the museum. However, 2,700 years after the construction of the castle the most enticing part of the castle, the walls, have been discovered. This made us very excited, as even though these walls witnessed great earthquakes, their architecture remained quite robust and unchanged. Also we learn so much about the history of Urartu from the walls. Lastly, even the earthquake in 2011 with a magnitude of 7.2 didn’t harm the building. The Ayanis Castle is full of surprises,” Isikli said. Photo: DHA Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Pashinyan: We must stop searching for homeland, we have found that homeland Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has shared a message on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Armenia-Azerbaijan: Experts launch work on determining coordinates Expert groups from the countries started the process of determining the coordinates based on geodetic measurements. Yerevan says did not expect CSTO in peacekeeping role Pashinyan has declared that the CSTO would be expected to come to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as an ally of Armenia Henrikh Mkhitaryan wins Serie A title with Inter Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits that the team have long been imagining clinching Serie A against AC Milan. |